Coming Forth by Sundown
by Fated-Shadows
Summary: His was a story that ended in light. At the time, nobody realized that ending one story would only cause the beginning of another.
1. Chapter 1

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 01  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

On a calm, sunny morning, village fisherman Shakir decided to travel further upriver than usual. No premonition guided him; he chose his fishing place for the day simply on the observation that he'd been catching fewer fish than usual lately, and headed upriver in hopes of a bigger catch. The last thing he expected to do was find a naked man standing on the banks of the Nile, waving his arms and shouting (for what he assumed was help) in a language he'd never heard before.

Taking the man back to his village, Shakir tried to ask him in Arabic why he was out there by himself, but the stranger just shook his head, not understanding, replying in his strange language. Only one word in his frantic dialogue made sense. _Luxor_.

Back at his village, he brought the man some clothes and pointed in the direction of the nearby city, in the hope that the stranger would understand. The man nodded and bowed low, and although his words were incomprehensible, Shakir understood that he was thankful.

He watched him walk away, and then returned to his boat. He didn't go back to his original destination upriver; not even the prospect of a bigger profit could make him, and this time it _was_ a supernatural reason that guided him. The stranger with eyes the colour of blood and violet didn't act as if he was out to cause harm…but he was still an unsettling sign.

And Shakir didn't have room in his life for the consequences of disobeying bad omens.

- - -

At the same moment that the stranger was walking down the highway toward the city, the crew of the archaeology site was just beginning work.

"Looks like a long day," one of the workers remarked morosely, looking out over the rubble that was scattered around after many other long days of digging away at the cliff.

"Well at least we've finally found the entrance…" The chief archaeologist set down his shovel and wiped sweat off his face. It was only sunrise and already hot, but he felt a rush of energy. After months of hard work and governmental blocks, they had finally broken in to the ancient Egyptian crypt and could begin excavation. He beckoned to a tall, light-haired young man nearby. "Hand me the flashlight, will you, Marik?"

Marik handed it to him without much enthusiasm. Though being the protégé to an archaeologist was easy, given his past experience with ancient Egypt and the "in" that his sister already had with the government, it was sort of boring, and this was one tomb he really had no desire to explore. In fact, he'd been spending a lot of time trying to direct the explorers away from it.

"Marik, why do you look so upset?" Rishid walked up behind him, carrying a pick-axe over his shoulder.

"I guess I'm feeling a bit useless." He sighed. "Ishizu wanted me on-site for a reason. So I've been trying for the last three months to keep them away from this tomb, but here we are."

"Isn't Ishizu trying to find a reason to shut the work down permanently?"

"She is, but it could take months. By then…it'd be too late."

"Yes…true. The sponsors of the exploration are eager to get inside."

"And I don't think Atemu will appreciate even more people traipsing around in his tomb," Marik continued. "Sure, his tomb isn't the lavish resting place most Pharaohs got, but it's still his and if anyone deserves peace and quiet, it's him."

"Well, I'm sure that Atemu appreciates the fact that you wanted to keep his grave sealed off from outsiders, but the workers would have found it either way." Rishid replied sensibly. "It had already been discovered years ago, even before Sugoroku Mutou made it inside. The entire desert is being dug up, it was only a matter of time."

"I suppose." Marik frowned. "But there's nothing down there, that's what gets me. Just dangerous traps. The Puzzle was the only thing left in there, and the tomb existed to protect that and that alone. And as we all know, the Puzzle is long gone." He sat down on a stray piece of the ancient wall. "I wish they'd leave his tomb alone. But they're going to dig it all up and tear it apart and find out it's just a big empty labyrinth with nothing in it. And that's if they're lucky enough to get past the traps, which is questionable. And of course I can't say anything because that would mean giving away information I'm not supposed to have."

Rishid nodded. "I understand. But maybe it won't come to that. They may get bored, or be disrupted by the traps, and will choose a new project."

Marik tilted his head. "I hope so."

"Marik, I need your help!" a voice echoed from inside the tomb. Marik got to his feet and sighed.

"Here we go again. The guy can't handle a pair of scissors without me helping him, _why_ the hell is he an archaeologist?" He clomped down inside the crypt and peered around. "What is it now?"

"I need the small axe, there's something here." His mentor replied, prodding at the wall.

"If you say so…" Marik fetched the axe, somewhat amused that the chief explorer really thought he'd found something already. Atemu's tomb was built to protect the Puzzle, a chamber right in the entryway was pointless.

To his shock, the wall crumbled away into a square doorway as the archaeologist knocked at it. "Ah…look Marik, a compartment!"

Marik had no smart remark for this, he was frozen in place. Compartment? What compartment was this? The man stepped forward inside it. It was just tall enough to admit someone to stand inside of, and was no bigger than six or seven feet on both sides. It was completely empty, except for a few lines of text on the wall directly before them. The man squinted at them in confusion. "What…? This looks like…Heliopolitan text?"

Marik shoved the man aside to take a look. The Heliopolitan texts had been before the Tombkeeper's time, he had never bothered to study up on them, and the words before him were unreadable.

_But that makes no sense, Atemu's dynasty didn't use this text._

Something was wrong…the air felt strange and heavy, and as he stared at the text he felt himself shivering.

_What is this…?_

Turning, he ran out, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

"Marik? Where are you going?" Rishid called, confused as Marik opened the door of his jeep, cursing at the phone.

"Goddamn…out of service…"

"Marik!" Rishid grabbed his arm as he stabbed at the buttons. "What's going on, what did you see?"

"I don't know yet, but I need to call Ishizu and then Yugi Mutou…piece of shit phone!" He slammed the phone closed and threw it into the jeep. "I give up, I'll call them from the house."

"Marik, you can't just leave-"

"Rishid…go have a look at that chamber. There's something strange about the text, and there's a strange feeling in it."

"So you think it means something bad is about to happen?" Rishid pressed, holding onto the edge of the door now so that Marik couldn't close it.

"I don't know what it means. But this is Atemu's tomb, and if something strange is happening here, it might affect Yugi and the others. I need to get back to Luxor and contact them, and I need to tell Ishizu to shut down work on this site immediately until I get a chance to translate that text. So let go of my car and let me head home. I'll fill you in later."

Rishid released the door. "You'd better."

- - -

"Yugi, check it out. I bought a new yukata to wear this year for the festival." Anzu twirled around in it. "I love summer. No more hot and heavy clothes for awhile."

Yugi barely glanced up from where he was constructing a paper lantern and basket with immense concentration. "Yeah, it's really nice, Anzu."

"You hardly even looked at it."

"Well, I know you, you wouldn't buy an ugly one." He looked up properly. "See, I was right, you look great."

"Well, thank you, but I'm not sure the compliment is a sincere one."

"I'm sorry Anzu, I'm sort of busy and you know that fashion sense isn't something I'm good with. But you look good in pink. And it's a nice shade." He returned his attention to his lantern.

Anzu sat down next to him. "Well, you got that right about your fashion sense, you're still wearing your school clothes, and we're on holiday." She observed his crafting for a few moments and then asked, "So, what's so important about this lantern and basket? We make these for the Bon festival every year and you've never put this much effort into it."

"These ones are special." He said, concentrating as he twisted paper flowers along the side. "I'm making these for Atemu."

Anzu was suddenly very quiet. Of course, she should have known. Hadn't she also put some extra thought into her own decorations for the festival this year for that very same reason?

"Anzu, are you okay?" Yugi asked. She jumped and nodded.

"I'm fine, just thinking is all. It's nice of you to make these especially for him."

"Well, Atemu was more than a friend, he was like a part of my family. And since I'm sort of his reincarnation, I think that makes him one of my ancestors too. I know it's not quite the same, but it probably still counts. I feel a little bad about putting more effort in for him than for my other family members, but…Atemu was special." His voice was far-off, as if his mind was elsewhere. Anzu wondered where exactly it was. Yugi had recovered extremely quickly after Atemu had left, and she couldn't help but think it had been too quickly. Four months wasn't nearly long enough to finish grieving after losing someone that close, yet Yugi had hardly ever seemed openly upset afterward. She considered that after all this time, maybe he was finally starting to come to grips with it, and maybe that was why he'd been so distracted lately.

"Yes, he was." She was silent again and then stood up. "I bet he really appreciates what you're doing for him."

"He'd better!" Yugi said with a smile.

She was glad to see him looking more cheerful, and replied, "Well, I'm going to head home. Remember, we're going to meet Jounouchi and everyone to help decorate the park later for the Bon-Odori, right?"

Yugi nodded. "Right, three o'clock."

"Okay, I'll see you then- Ah!" She'd opened the door to his room and nearly run into Yugi's grandfather, who was coming from the other side. "I'm sorry."

He looked as though he'd gotten a bit of a shock as well, but laughed. "It's okay Anzu. Nice yukata."

"Thanks." She waved and closed the door behind her.

"Yugi, I bought everything you asked me to at the store for your basket." He held up a packet of cheap fake-silver bracelets he'd found at a craft store. "Though, I'm not sure I understand all this. You just put food and sweets and flowers in these baskets, so why did I have to buy jewelry? For decoration?"

Yugi snatched the bracelets and the bag and said quickly, sounding embarrassed, "Maybe."

His grandfather made his way toward the stairs. "Good enough reason for me, Yugi."

Yugi sat back down with a sigh and studied the bracelets. His grandpa was right, usually offering baskets didn't hold objects in them, but Yugi thought that Atemu's spirit, provided that he would be around during the three days, would find it amusing. It had been he, after all, that had tried to convince Yugi to wear bracelets the day he'd decided to put the Millennium Puzzle on a chain. He could recall the conversation clearly:

_"Putting the Puzzle on a chain…seems to be showing it off."_

_"Nah, of course not!"_ Atemu had countered, and winked. _"If I were you'd I'd definitely wear a bracelet to match. Want to try?"_

Yugi couldn't help it, he had to laugh. Indeed, if Atemu's spirit happened to visit during the festival, and Yugi was pretty sure that he would if he could, he'd probably think it was funny.

Having finished his lantern, Yugi tossed the bracelets onto his bed and carried the lamp outside to hang it up on the house beside the other lanterns his grandfather had already hung for their family. He stood and stared at it for a long time. Even when the phone rang, he didn't bother to go and answer, he instead stayed out there and watched it wave in the summer breeze.

_Atemu…_

It had been four months since the Ceremonial Battle and since he and the pharaoh had gone their separate ways. Afterward he'd thrown himself into projects in the belief that he could avoid the sadness if he just stayed busy long enough. Recently though he'd begun to feel like it was taking its toll on him. Whenever someone mentioned Atemu he'd feel his eyes sting. He became more and more disinclined to be around people, and sometimes even in big groups he'd feel pangs of loneliness. And he found himself always feeling for the Puzzle out of habit, only to remember it was gone. One would think he wouldn't miss the heavy thing around his neck, but the truth was that he did.

_I hope you're having fun with your friends and family in that other world…I hope you haven't forgotten about me._

Yugi shook his head. That was impossible, Atemu would never forget him. How could he think that?

He surveyed his elaborately-made lantern with satisfaction. The Bon festival was all about celebrating your ancestors, honouring them and welcoming their spirits back into your home for the three-day holiday. It had always been one of Yugi's favorite festivals because of all the excitement and fun, the feasting and crafting and dances and fireworks…but this year it would mean something even more important. This year there was one spirit he wanted to welcome back more than ever. He wanted to do everything he could to make sure that Atemu's spirit felt as special as he ever had during his stay.

_I'm going to honour you in every possible way during the festival. Yugi promised. And then during the toro-nagashi, I'll make you the nicest looking boat of all so that your spirit can sail back with pride. I owe it to you…_

He was the man who had taught Yugi about strength and pride, the man that granted Yugi's greatest wish for a best friend. Atemu had been the person Yugi strove to become, and instead he had helped Yugi to become his own person. He owed him more than he could ever imagine.

Yet, Yugi had made him leave. He knew what winning that match meant, but throwing it would have been an insult both to Atemu and himself. And trapping Atemu within himself would have been cruel. But in letting him go…what if he had inadvertently told Atemu he didn't want him around?

It was a fear he would never reveal to anybody, yet one that ate at him inside. Because Atemu surely wouldn't know how Yugi really felt…nobody knew, Yugi had been careful to make sure of that…

Before the battle, he had wished that he would have time to talk to Atemu, to make him understand that while Yugi desperately wanted him to stay, that he knew the only way they could both progress was to set him free. Yet he never had, and now he regretted not finding the time. He hoped that during this festival he could show Atemu that he had always been cared for. He sat down and watched the other people in his neighborhood; some were dusting off small family shrines outside their houses, others hanging lanterns as well. The phone was still ringing inside.

_I miss you, Atemu. I really hope you're happy in the other world. I wish I could talk to you, even just for a moment. I want to tell you what's going on in my life, I want to let you know that none of us here have forgotten you. I want to show you that I'm doing okay, that your Aibou has grown up a bit and become someone…that I hope you're proud of. Or at least…I'm trying._ His eyes were stinging again. He dragged his hand across them. _It's because of you, you helped me become a strong person. But even so…I would give a lot for just one moment…just to hear your voice-_

"Yugi!"

His head shot up. "Yes Mom?"

She leaned out the door. "A boy named Marik's on the phone for you."

"Marik?!" Yugi got up. "Why would Marik be calling?"

"I don't know, go answer the phone and find out. I'm busy cooking." She vanished.

Puzzled, he walked upstairs and picked up the phone. "Marik?"

"Yugi?"

"Yeah."

"Yugi…there's…I don't know how to say this…"

"Marik, are you okay?" Yugi asked, alarmed at the strange tone of Marik's voice.

"I…" He paused. "Atemu's here."

Yugi laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"Atemu. He's here. He's…real, alive, however you want to say it."

His laugher died away, a strange tightness in his chest. "You're serious…?"

"Yugi, would I joke about this?!"

"No, but…but…"

"Would you believe me if you talked to him?"

Yugi swallowed, nodding, then realized Marik couldn't see him nod. "Yes."

"Okay, here."

A few scuffles broke through, and then the words: "Aibou? Is it…really you?"

The room spun, and the stinging in his eyes instantly became wet tears. That voice…that beautiful voice he hadn't heard in so long… "Atemu…how…?"

His former other self's voice was soft and hard to read. "I…don't know how, Aibou. This is just as much a mystery to me."

"Wow…I…" Yugi stopped and then found himself asking stupidly, "How are you?"

"Fine. And you, Aibou?" Atemu sounded a little happier, and Yugi found himself smiling, his cheeks flushing slightly as he replied,

"I'm good, Ate-"

Marik's voice rose in the background: "You two can catch up later!"

"I have to give the phone back to Marik," Atemu said, interrupting him.

"Right. Okay."

"We'll talk soon."

"Of course, definitely, very soon," Yugi agreed eagerly.

"Bye Aibou."

Yugi didn't have a chance to say good-bye before Marik took the phone back and said rapidly, "A strange chamber was just discovered in Atemu's tomb. I came home to call you and Ishizu, and Atemu was here."

"But how…? How did he even find your house?"

"He said he just re-appeared without warning in Kul Elna, he doesn't know why. A fisherman gave him directions to Luxor, apparently he overheard me giving you my home address before the Ceremonial Battle. That's all I know so far. Something weird is going on, I need you to come over here as soon as you can."

"Marik, it's a holiday, the flights-"

"I don't care, you must get over here!"

"Okay…I'll find a way."

"Thank you." Marik hung up before Yugi could ask if he could speak to Atemu again.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I haven't posted a chapter story in years. I'm beyond nervous. Don't be too harsh please, (but if you do spot a grammar/spelling mistake let me know.)

The discrepencies explained:  
- I know "Ishizu" is supposed to be "Isis," but I went by the VIZ translated manga, which calls her Ishizu. And I actually had another reason to use Ishizu too, so...she's Ishizu. On that note, people can't seem to agree if "Marik" or "Malik" is correct, so I'm going with Marik.

- Yugi is supposed to use honourifics. Yes, I know, I bloody _know_...just his usage of them is spotty, sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't, I don't know what sort of honourifics the minour characters would use...so I'm calling creative license and leaving them out altogether. I'm basing this on the manga, not the anime, and again, the only translated manga I have is from VIZ, which leaves out the honourifics.

- Marik lives in Luxor becase I needed him in Luxor. I _do_ have an explanation as to how I could place his house in Luxor at the end of the series, in case anybody needs it. xD

Lemme think, other notes, other notes...the title is obviously a reference to the title of the Book of the Dead, AKA _Coming Forth by Day_. None of the other chapters are this long, I apologize for all the words this time around, but it was the set-up and all. Other chapters are more around 3-4 pages, not 6.

I apologize to any past readers reading this who have sent me PMs, especially to Pharaohess, I'm sorry I never answered. I haven't been on FFN in _ages, _I know some stuff has changed around here, (like I can't use greater-than or less-than signs anymore...) I'll try to reply to any comments that have questions, or that are particularly long or helpful, but even if I don't, know I really do appreciate them and take them to heart. :)

I promise the author's notes won't always be this long, either.


	2. Chapter 2

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 02  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

Across town, Jounouchi was at the casino watching Mai deal cards. Her shift was about to end, and he had arrived early for unspoken reasons, leaning against the doorway as Mai handed out tokens and shooed the people off to go play other games.

"What're you doing here?" Mai asked as she snapped her purse shut, swinging it over her shoulder.

"No real reason, I just thought it'd be nice to walk you home." Jounouchi said, shrugging as they left. "There're a lot of outside people in town, and I know you can take care of yourself, but I'd feel better if I walked with you."

"That's sweet…but you're right, I could handle myself if anyone made trouble."

"I know." Jounouchi said guardedly, sensing he was about to be made fun of. He was right.

"Well, come on then, you'd better come make sure no one tries to attack me."

"Keep an attitude like that and see if I ever walk you home again." He grumbled in response.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for making fun of your chivalrous ways. Feel better now?"

"Loads." They walked in silence for a few moments. "So…you're going to help us set up for the festival this afternoon, right?"

"Yep. Anzu called me yesterday."

"Oh, okay."

"Do you want me to pick you up in the car and drive you to the park later?" She offered.

"No, that's okay."

"Alright."

It was silent again. Then, quite suddenly, Jounouchi saw a rather scruffy looking man walking their way. He frowned. There was a bar not far from the casino and on occasion a few hapless drunks had tried to harass Mai. But this man didn't really look drunk. He was staggering a bit, but his eyes were clear.

Without warning, the man leapt forward and grabbed Mai by the wrist.

"Hey, let me go!" Mai snapped, struggling back. Jounouchi paused, knowing Mai wasn't incapable of protecting herself from harassers. Yet, for some strange reason, he didn't loosen his grip on her arm, even after she had kicked him in crucial parts of his anatomy. "I told you, let me go!"

The man merely grinned at her. Jounouchi grabbed him roughly by the arm, commanding, "Hey, you heard her, let her go."

The bum finally released her, only to swing around and punch Jounouchi in the side of his face. Getting to his feet, Jounouchi scowled and clenched his fist, hitting him back, landing the blow squarely on his jaw. It didn't slow the stranger down for a second, he leapt upon Jounouchi, still grinning in that weird way, pummeling him repeatedly, seemingly not tiring.

"What is _wrong _with you?!" Jounouchi shouted, punching him back; the man's nose was pouring blood and his lower jaw seemed out of alignment with the upper, and yet he didn't seem to feel a thing.

"That's enough!" Mai suddenly thwacked the stranger over the head with a large rock. He swayed and slumped to the ground. "Are you okay, Jounouchi?" she asked, dropping the rock and pulling him to his feet. "That guy really beat you up."

He wiped blood off his face. "I'm fine." He looked down at the stranger. "Do you know him?"

"Never seen him before in my life." She replied, shaking her head.

Jounouchi touched the side of his face and winced. "C'mon, let's just go before he wakes up. I don't feel like fighting him again."

"Good idea…when we get to my house you'd better come in and put some medicine on those cuts…" Mai was saying as they walked away. Suddenly, an arm snaked around her neck and Jounouchi spun around to see the man holding her in a headlock, seemingly unaffected by the bloody knot on the back of his head.

"I thought you hit him HARD with that rock!" He cried in frustration.

"I thought I did too!" Mai shouted back, struggling to get away.

"What is up with this guy, it's like he's invincible!" Jounouchi muttered as he grabbed the man's arm and tried to pry his hands off her, only to invite a kick in the stomach.

"Okay…this worked once…" he picked up the same rock and slammed it point-blank into the man's face. It worked at first; he released Mai and staggered backwards, falling to the ground. Then he lay still.

Mai backed up. "Jounouchi…"

He knew what she was thinking. It was pretty common knowledge that a glancing blow to one's nose to force the bone into a person's brain and kill them. To think he'd…

"It's okay Mai." He said shakily. "At least he won't try to come after you again. You're sure you don't know him? He really seems to have something against you."

"I swear, I've never seen him before." She said, shaking her head. Then she paused and asked, "…Is he dead?"

Jounouchi shook his head. "I don't know…What??" He leapt backwards as the stranger pulled himself to his knees and was now reaching toward their legs. He reached for the rock again. "No Mai, I don't think he's dead."

"Jounouchi…that's not going to work." Mai observed. "I- Arrgh! Get off!" She kicked out at the man, who had latched his hand around her ankle, and jammed her heel sharply into his face. Still, he kept reaching out toward her, still grinning, looking oddly _happy_.

"Okay, new plan." Jounouchi grabbed her wrist. "Let's just run."

"You read my mind." They took off at a sprint, and after a few moments, Mai glanced over her shoulder. "Jounouchi, you won't believe this-"

"He's following us?!" He groaned. "Dammit, this guy is invincible…look, let's head for the busy part of town, we can lose him in the crowd, and then backtrack to your house."

"Works for me."

Fifteen minutes later, Mai inserted the key to her house in the door, opened it, and slammed it shut behind them as they collapsed, panting, in the hallway.

"You're sure he didn't follow us?"

"I'm pretty sure we lost him a few corners back." Mai kicked off her shoes. "I'm calling the police about that guy."

"You do that." Jounouchi agreed.

While Mai went to call, Jounouchi leaned back against the wall and mentally went over what had just happened. It had been beyond weird, the sort of thing someone would never want to experience once, much less again. But the disturbing thing was that he had the feeling this _had_ happened to him before. It had been when Shadi had used the Millennium Key to take over Yugi's grandfather's friend, Professor Yoshimori. He'd been chasing them, and Jounouchi had beaten him up pretty badly, but instead of feeling anything, like a normal person, the professor had just kept trying to attack them. He knew there was no way Shadi would be behind this, but what if it was something similar?

"…Jounouchi?" He heard Mai's voice and snapped to attention.

"What?"

"You had a strange look on your face…what were you thinking about?"

He explained to her the story about Yoshimori, reaching for his shoes. "I'm going to go see Yugi about this." He said. "It's as strange as anything else we've ever had to deal with."

"What about your injuries-"

"I'll take care of them there, they have a first aid kit."

"I'll drive you over." Mai put in firmly. "That guy might still be around. I'll put up the top and that way he won't see us."

"Thanks Mai." Jounouchi smiled.

- - -

At Yugi's house they could hear voices in Yugi's room even before they reached the second floor. With puzzled glances at each other, they peered in to see Anzu and Honda already there, deep in discussion.

"Guys?" Jounouchi asked, as all three looked up, and he saw solemn looks on all of their faces. "What's going on?"

"Oh good, we've been trying to call you for the last hour. Marik called," Honda said. "Atemu's back."

"Back? What's what supposed to mean?"

"He's…alive. Apparently Marik came home and found him there waiting for him."

"But…Atemu…?"

"I know." Yugi's voice sounded odd, but Jounouchi couldn't quite put his finger on what the unusual tone was. "But he's there. I talked to him. And Marik asked me to fly over as soon as I can…and I figured the rest of you would like to come too. I think Atemu will want as many of his friends there as possible."

"We've been checking flights though. There's not very many to Luxor, and all of them are booked," Anzu said, moving over on the bed to give the two newcomers a place to sit.

"Why do we have to go to Egypt?" Jounouchi asked, frowning.

"Atemu can't leave Egypt or enter Japan, he doesn't have any identification or a passport."

"But the flights…it's impossible to find seats right now, couldn't they just wait a week?"

"Marik thinks we need to go over there now," Yugi answered.

"But _why-_"

"I say it's because of the Bon Festival," Honda interrupted. "That would make sense, right? What if Atemu was able to be resurrected because of it? That would mean he'd only have three days here."

Jounouchi brightened. "Yeah, that does make sense!"

"Which means we need to get over there soon," Mai pointed out. "It's nearly two o'clock already, and I'm sure it must be a long flight-"

"Eleven hours," Anzu nodded, phone pressed to her ear. "By the time we arrive, one whole day of the festival will be over."

Yugi was silent, watching them converse. He knew the timing made sense, but Marik had sounded absolutely frantic over the phone, far more frantic than he would have sounded if it was just a Bon Festival issue.

_There's got to be more to it than that.  
_

"That's it." Anzu hung up the phone. "That was the last airline. They'd love our business, but all their flights out are full for the next three days. Everyone coming and going from Obon…"

"So what are we going to do?" Mai asked, inviting a curious look from Jounouchi.

"What do you mean, 'we'?"

"Well I'm coming with you."

"No you're not," Jounouchi replied.

She scowled. "And who are you to say I'm not? Atemu is my friend too. Besides, with that strange man wandering around Domino trying to abduct me, I don't want to stay here-"

"Strange man?" Yugi asked. Then, as if he'd only just taken a good look at him: "Jounouchi, what happened to your face?!"

"That's part of the story. Can I use your first aid kit?"

In-between winces as Mai tended to his scraps, they explained about what happened. Yugi's eyebrows knit together. "That doesn't sound good at all…"

"We have more pressing matters," Honda picked up the phone book and waved it at him. "There are no more commercial flights available. Yugi, a few of the planes had single seats left, maybe you should just get on one of those and we can try to follow later-"

"No, we should all go if it's possible," Yugi replied firmly.

"Well, then how? Either we need a _very_ fast boat or someone with a private plane-"

"Kaiba." Anzu said aloud.

Jounouchi shook his head. "No way."

"He has a private jet!"

"And he's so likely to let us just borrow it," Honda muttered sarcastically.

"There's no harm in asking-"

"Oh no, there's plenty of harm." Jounouchi waved his arms. "Way too much harm."

"Don't you want to see Atemu?" Mai asked.

"Of course, but do we have to ask _Kaiba_?" He groaned.

"Yugi's the one that got the call, and Yugi's the one that knows Atemu best." Anzu interrupted sensibly. "So Yugi ought to make the choice."

They all turned to him. Yugi blinked, then nodded. "Kaiba's our only choice, let's go for it."

- - -

The intercom on his desk in the study crackled. Then: "Sir, you have a visitor."

He scowled, putting down his book and jabbing at the machine. "Pretend I'm not here and tell them to come back next week. It's a holiday for God's sake. Who comes and bothers me at home on a holiday?"

"It's Mutou Yugi."

Seto raised his head and frowned. "Yugi?"

"Yes sir."

"Fine, send him up." He got up from his desk as the door opened and Yugi, followed by the others, filed in. "Yugi…this is a surprise."

"Sorry to barge in. We need a favour." Yugi took a deep breath. "We need to use your jet."

"My jet," he repeated, looking bemused.

"To go to Egypt."

"Egypt, of course."

"Because Atemu has been resurrected, and he can't leave the country without identification, so we have to go over there, and all the commercial flights are booked."

Seto folded his arms. "Yugi, you were never one for practical jokes."

"This isn't a joke!" Anzu cut in. "Yugi's serious, we need your jet."

"You need to use my private jet because a ghost has come back to life in Egypt."

Jounouchi scowled. "Hey, lose the condescending tone. We wouldn't be here asking for your help if we didn't need it."

"Like I care what you think, Jounouchi." Seto shrugged him off.

Mai grabbed Jounouchi's hand to stop him from retaliating, and his argument died in his throat as he shrunk back with a slight blush over his nose, glancing down at their hands.

"My jet," Seto mused. "Jet fuel is very expensive. The economy is shaky enough, joyrides to other countries aren't prudent. Not to mention the amount it'll cost for the pilot, the rate for holiday flights is at least double the usual cost-"

"I know, we'll find a way to compensate you later," Yugi said fiercely. "This is _really_ important."

"Don't bother."

"What?"

"I said, don't bother with compensation. If Mokuba finds out you asked for a favour and I didn't help you, I'll never hear the end of it. I'd like to actually have some relaxation on my holiday." Seto walked over to his phone and picked up the receiver, pressing a button and speaking quietly into the speaker. Setting it down, he wrote something on a piece of paper and held it out to Yugi. "Here's the directions to the airfield, be there in an hour."

"Kaiba, thank you-"

"Please, I haven't been this amused all month." He sat back down at his desk, picked up his book, and pointed toward the door. "Now get moving before the amusement wears off and I regret this."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I suck at writing fight scenes. :shrugs: Focus on the storyline and not the crappy writing, alright? xD And wow, Kaiba actually did something _useful_ for a change. xD; More interesting things will happen next chapter, promise.

For the record, Mai moved to Japan a few months before.

Thanks everyone who reviewed chapter 01. :) Your comments and support were very, very appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 03  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

The jet touched down at the airport in Luxor near seven o'clock in the evening. By the time the taxi reached Marik's house, it was growing dark.

Standing in a cluster on the sidewalk, all five seemed to hesitate.

"So are we going in?" Honda asked, though he made no move toward the door.

"Is this the right address?"

"It's the one Marik gave me, if it worked for Atemu it should work for us."

"Okay."

"So…are we going in?"

The front door flew open at that moment, startling them all. Marik peered out. "Yugi? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's us." Yugi nodded, walking forward as the other four followed along sheepishly. Marik looked confused.

"I wasn't expecting all of you. Oh well, never mind, get inside." He stood aside as they filed in.

Yugi glanced around, almost nervously. He tried to distract himself (and his pounding heart) with mundane thoughts: for instance, he had never seen Marik's house before. It seemed comfortable, although he had to resist the impulse to stop and take his shoes off as he entered. Then he saw a man walk in from another room.

Spying the group, Atemu's eyes lit up. He beamed, looking happier than any of them could ever recall him looking before. "Aibou…!"

"Atemu!" Mind blank, forgetting all thoughts of distraction, he found himself rushing forward, throwing his arms around him. He nestled happily against his shoulder as Atemu brought his arms up to hug him back, smiling.

"Hi Aibou."

Yugi smiled at the words, eyes closed and thoughts blissfully drifting as Atemu's embrace warmed him, quieting at last the storm inside himself that had been born four months before. It wasn't until he heard Jounouchi saying, somewhat awkwardly, "Er…guys…?" that he realized where he was.

"Oh!" Shrugging away Atemu's grasp he backed up quickly, meeting nobody's eyes. "I…I'm sorry…I was just happy to see you, I forgot myself for a moment."

He heard Atemu start to say "It's okay-" until he was interrupted as the rest of the group mobbed him. Only when Yugi was sure that he was engrossed in conversation with Jounouchi did he look up.

Atemu's skin was no longer the ghostly pale it had been. It was now the bronze shade he'd had as a pharaoh. His eyes hadn't changed, however, nor had his figure or hair. He looked the same, sounded the same…even smelled the same, that clean warm scent, although Yugi wasn't about to admit to anyone that he noticed _that_.

That was when Yugi noticed that one member of the group didn't seem as excited to see Atemu. Anzu was hanging back, her eyes trained on the floor. Yugi frowned slightly to himself. He'd always known she had feelings for Atemu…so why wasn't she happy to see him? She'd had an oddly uncomfortable look on her face when he told her about the phone call, too, but he'd assumed that was caused by shock. Surely the shock would have worn off by now.

The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Marik hurried toward it. "I've been waiting on a call. You guys get comfortable, I'll be back in a few minutes." He picked up the receiver and took it into another room, closing the door.

"What's that all about?" Honda asked, sitting down on the couch.

"He called someone earlier," Atemu replied, sitting down too. "He told you about the chamber, right? Apparently there was some Heliopolitan text in it that he couldn't read. He's been waiting on a translation."

"You'd think he could share that with us," Mai contended hotly. "If it applies to you, it applies to everyone."

"So what's the big deal with this chamber, anyway?" Jounouchi asked.

Atemu shrugged. "I don't even know. But I'm happy to see you…how did you all get here? I thought the airlines would be too full for all of you to get seats during a holiday."

"We talked Kaiba into letting us use his jet."

The disbelief in Atemu's eyes was obvious.

"We're serious!"

"What about your families?" He finally asked.

"Well Jounouchi and I don't have anyone to answer to," Mai explained.

"I told my mom I was going to stay with a school friend who would be spending the holiday alone," said Anzu.

"I told my parents I was going to visit my sister," Honda said.

"And I told Grandpa the truth about what was happening. I don't know what explanation he'll give my parents, but he was okay with it," Yugi finished. "We called Otogi, but he and his father had already left on a trip to Hokkaido, and Bakura's out of town on vacation too. But they both say hi."

Atemu nodded. "I'm glad…that you all came. It feels better to have my friends here…what with things being so strange."

"So you don't know why you're back here?" Anzu asked.

"I don't know. Like I told Aibou, this is all a mystery to me, too. One minute I was in the underworld, the next I just appeared in the ruins of Kul Elna. As we all know, the actual room with the memory tablet and Millennium Items was destroyed."

"Appeared in rather odd clothes, too," Jounouchi observed.

"I didn't choose these, they were given to me by the man that rescued me and gave me directions here."

"You mean you reappeared naked?"

"Er…" Atemu blushed slightly.

"So is everyone in the underworld naked?" Honda inquired.

"Specifically the girls?" Jounouchi added, only to yelp "OW!" a second later as Mai smacked him over the head.

Atemu looked as if he'd prefer any other subject, so Yugi rescued him. "I have a few changes of clothes, Atemu, you can borrow something."

"Thank you, Aibou."

Something warm settled inside Yugi's chest at the nickname, making him smile down at his feet. Marik opened the door at that moment, a dark expression on his face.

"Did you get the translation?" Atemu asked.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Unfortunately?"

Marik sighed. "You guys aren't going to like this. It was a prophecy of some sort. Rishid took pictures and found someone to get a rough translation. It says, in ordinary terms, that a lost God-King will return to the afterlife, still ignorant of his duty. A rift will be created, the underworld will open, and the spirits of the underworld will emerge to seek new bodies."

Jounouchi, who hated all things occult, shrunk back into the chair he was perched on.

"That's all it says?" Yugi asked.

"That's all."

"A God-King…that's a pharaoh, right?" Mai asked. "Weren't pharaohs considered Gods?"

"And a _lost_ God-King…must refer to Atemu," Honda nodded. "He was the lost pharaoh. And it's in his tomb."

"Wait…" Yugi said slowly, realizing something. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Huh?" Everyone looked over at him. Yugi stared back. "It's Heliopolitan text. Atemu was part of the eighteenth dynasty, the Heliopolitans were way before him. Right Marik?"

Marik nodded.

"So how did someone from an era before Atemu was even born build this into his tomb?"

"I don't know, it's possible there was a sect that still used that text-"

"Um, don't you guys think that right now finding out what the message means is a little more important than who put it there?" Mai interrupted. "Spirits and the underworld opening both sound like bad things."

"That's it!" Jounouchi suddenly sat up and everyone jumped.

"What's it, Jounouchi?"

"Mai…that man…I told you he was acting possessed, I bet he was! By one of those spirits! It's happening right now, the spirits are emerging to seek new host bodies."

Marik's eyebrows furrowed. "What man?"

An explanation of what had happened to Jounouchi and Mai was repeated, and Marik nodded. "That's too much of a coincidence."

"But why right now?" Anzu finally asked. "Atemu…returned to the other world months ago. Why would the spirits only emerge now?"

"Maybe because you tapped into that chamber?"

"But Atemu said he appeared during the night. We didn't open the chamber till the morning." Marik paused. "Isn't there some kind of festival going on over where you guys live right now? Something having to do with spirits?"

"Obon." Anzu nodded. "In Buddhist legend, the night of the fifteenth is when the afterlife is opened up and spirits are allowed to return to the real world. That's the basis for this holiday, it was eventually extended to three days, but that's the basic gist."

"That sounds an awful lot like this."

"Perhaps the Bon Festival helped cause the underworld to open?"

"I suppose it's possible. There would be an abundance of spiritual energy in the world at the moment, it may have been the final piece."

"Atemu, what do you think of this?" Yugi finally asked, glancing at the former pharaoh. "…Atemu?" He stood, taking a step closer in concern. "Are you okay?"

Everyone turned to see Atemu sitting with his face in his hands. Slowly he lifted it. "What duty?"

"What?"

"It says…still ignorant of his duty…what duty is that?"

Nobody answered, though they all glanced at Marik. Marik shook his head. "I don't know what it means, either."

"Well if it _is_ talking about me…the spirits won't go back unless I fulfill that duty, right?" Atemu continued, rather aggressively. "It sounds as if not filling it is what caused the underworld to open. So it might be good to know what it is."

"But what about yourself? Honda wondered. "You're a spirit from the underworld too. But you didn't have to possess anybody. Why did you return with a body while none of the other spirits did?"

"Well, we don't _know_ that any of the other spirits didn't return with bodies," Mai pointed out. "That man might have been one of them, and not someone who was possessed after all."

"Yes, but it says that the spirits will _seek_ new bodies, so if they could just make their own, why would they seek them?"

"God knows how old this text is, you're going to argue grammar?"

Watching the others deep in discussion, Atemu lowered his eyes.

_Ignorant of his duty._

He frowned to himself, anxious guilt in the pit of his stomach. What was he ignorant of? All of the loose ends were tied up before he left, they'd made sure of that. Had he forgotten something? Unless the prophesy wasn't about him, but that seemed little more than a childish wish at this point.

He didn't notice Yugi watching him, concern in his amethyst eyes.

* * *

**Notes:** So...the return of Atemu and the introduction of a plot. Took me long enough. xD I'm starting to worry this is sounding stereotypical. Hopefully, if it seems like it is, it won't be in later chapters. . My lack of reading fanfiction is coming back to bite me, I have no idea what's stereotypical and what isn't. xD;  
According to the manga Atemu was part of the 18th dynasty.

Happy birthday Ryou Bakura! Sorry you didn't get a fic to yourself. Maybe next year.


	4. Chapter 4

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 04  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

"Throughout the day, many cities have reported extremely odd behaviors of the residents, ranging from sudden over-friendliness to extreme violent attacks. At least four deaths have been confirmed from such attacks. Gas lines are being checked for leaks and chemical plants have been put under supervision. We are asking everyone to remain calm. You are advised to stay close to home and if you encounter people exhibiting unnatural behavior, do not confront them, call your local police station or this hotline number…"

Jounouchi picked up the remote and put the television on mute. Having exhausted their discussion of the prophesy, they had decided to eat and check the news for any reports that might indicate evil spirits were around. Marik was translating the Arabic for them.

"Looks like those demons have been busy. That man in Domino, people here…this is probably happening all over the world."

"But you heard the guy, over-friendliness is an effect too." Anzu pointed out. "Maybe not all the souls that are coming up here are evil. It's entirely possible that good spirits have come as well, and were forced to possess people. Maybe they're trying to be nice to make up for what the bad ones are doing. Look at Atemu. Sure, so he at least didn't have to _possess_ anyone, but he's probably here because the opening of the underworld made it easier, and he's not an evil spirit."

"She's right." Yugi agreed. "Good spirits might have come and possessed people too. So if we find a way to make the spirits stop, we've got to be careful that we don't hurt the good ones."

"Why?" Jounouchi wanted to know. "They're still possessing people, that's wrong!"

"What if they didn't have a choice?" Yugi demanded, touchy on this subject. "Just because Atemu didn't have any choice but to possess me when I solved the puzzle, that didn't make him evil, did it?"

"Well…no…but we don't even know how to get rid of the evil ones, so how do we save the good guys on top of that?"

Everyone shrugged.

Atemu sat, chin in his hand, glumly watching the silent pictures on the TV set. He hadn't said anything for the last half hour. But now he lifted his head and said, "What happens if we can't fix this before the Bon Festival ends?"

Everyone shifted nervously. "Well…in legend, the underworld opens up during Obon," Honda finally said. "It's supposed to close afterward. So…if it closes…that might mean the spirits will go back on their own."

"Or it might mean it'll be even harder to make them go back," Marik said. "And right now we really should plan for the worst. Let's assume that when Obon ends, the job becomes even more difficult."

Yugi glanced at the clock and did some quick math. "It's already one-thirty in the morning in Japan. We have less than forty-eight hours."

Another layer of gloom settled over them. Finding a way to make the spirits go back at all was looking like an impossible task. To figure out how to do it within the next two days was even worse.

"Hey, Atemu…if we can't get the spirits to leave…does that mean you're stuck here too?" Jounouchi suddenly asked. "I mean, theoretically, it was the opening of the spirit world that made you appear, right? Well, if it closes and the other spirits can't go back, then what does that mean for you?"

Atemu looked thoughtful. "I hadn't thought of that…I suppose it's true." No one said anything in reply to that. Atemu straightened up, suddenly realizing what they were thinking. "You guys, I don't want to stay here if some type of evil magic is what's keeping things that way. I've missed you all, but this isn't my world, and I would never take advantage of something like this for that reason."

"You're right." Jounouchi agreed.

"I knew you'd say something like that." Yugi said with a smile.

Anzu was still silent, seemingly lost in thought. "Anzu? You've been awfully quiet today, are you okay?" Yugi asked.

She looked up. "Eh…yes, I'm fine. Just…thinking about a lot." _I know this isn't the time…_

"You're sure you're alright?"

"I am, really. I just…" She paused and then said, very quietly, "Atemu…could I talk to you?"

"Sure." He replied, looking puzzled.

"Outside?"

"Of course."

"Don't go too far, guys." Mai pointed to the TV, where video was streaming from one of the murder scenes.

"We won't." Anzu said as Atemu stood up and followed her out of the room. A few minutes after they left, Mai wondered aloud,

"Wonder what that was all about."

"I think I know." Yugi murmured.

"About Atemu staying?" Jounouchi asked.

"More like his resurrection in general. She's been acting cagey ever since I told her he was back. She fell in love with him a long time ago, and she never told him how she felt before he left. Seeing him again might have awoken that want to tell him, and she probably feels guilty about it."

"Talk about confusing." Mai mused. "In love with someone who's dead."

"It could be worse." Said Jounouchi, with a sideways glance at Yugi. "Yugi, aren't you jealous at all?"

"Huh?" Yugi asked guardedly, giving him a look.

Jounouchi obviously saw the warning look, but barreled on anyway, "You've got a crush on Anzu. Weren't you ever jealous that it was Atemu she liked and not you? Even just a little bit?"

"I suppose." Yugi admitted. "It seemed a little unfair at first. But I tried not to think about it. Given the choice between me and him, I can't blame her. I'm nowhere near as cool." _Besides…that old crush is long gone. If I'm jealous of anyone, it's of her. She's not afraid to tell him her feelings._

"Oh c'mon, don't say that." Honda said. "You're cool."

"But not in the way he is. And anyway, I'm not going to hold it against Atemu, alright? It wasn't his fault. All he did was save her life, and she chose to feel however she felt about him. It's not like he _made _her fall in love with him. Atemu doesn't even feel the same way about Anzu as she feels about him."

"How do you know?"

"He was my other self! Do you think we never talked about anything?"

"Yeah, about card games and Egypt and stuff like that. I didn't know you discussed girls too. I mean, I didn't think you discussed…everyday stuff."

Yugi frowned. "We discussed whatever we felt like. Now drop it, alright?"

Jounouchi, seeing his expression, wisely stopped talking this time.

- - -

"So…what did you want to talk about?" Atemu asked. They were sitting outside Marik's house on the front step.

Anzu hesitated. She wasn't sure where to start. It seemed so pointless, her own worries and feelings, when the world was in danger of being taken over by all the criminals of the underworld, and while Atemu clearly had much larger concerns. She felt so small and insignificant. It was times like these that the smallest personal feelings always reared their heads. And that fact that all along a small part of her mind thought that she'd made a mistake to never tell him before. She'd always thought to herself that if she could go back and do it over, she would tell him. And now here was her chance…and she just had to know. However, finding the right words…_that_ was beyond difficult.

After several long moments, during which Atemu remained silent as he waited, she said, "do you remember that day in Burger World? When that escaped prisoner took me hostage, and you beat him in a Penalty Game?"

He nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"At the time…I didn't know who it was that had saved me. It wasn't till much later that I found out it was Yugi's "other self". But you know, Atemu…I fell in love with the person that saved me."

Atemu blinked, but said nothing.

"For the longest time I was obsessed with trying to figure out who it had been, trying to figure out whose voice matched the one I'd heard. And once I found out it was Yugi's other self…"

"It must have been uncomfortable."

"To say the least." She laughed. "I did some stupid things after that…like that day at the park. I invited Yugi out in hopes of seeing you, and ended up hurting the both of you. It was cruel of me…and I regret it."

Atemu inclined his head. "It's alright Anzu. It's in the past now, and you're sorry. People make mistakes sometimes. Neither I nor Yugi hold a grudge about it."

"Thank you." She paused. "I didn't want you to leave, during the Ceremonial Battle. I knew your spirit had a place to go back to, I knew you were only a soul here on Earth by the help of someone else and eventually you'd have to leave…but I never wanted to admit it. Everyone had been saying that there was no one who could beat you, but Yugi was so determined to fight you…a small part of me wanted to believe what the others were saying; that no matter what, you would win. Do you think that was wrong? It sounds selfish."

He shook his head. "No, Anzu, I don't think it was wrong. People can't always help the way they feel. I've hoped for things before that…I shouldn't have hoped for. But my heart still had that hope, however much I knew it wasn't right." He smiled at her slightly. "You didn't do anything wrong."

She nodded, and then began again, this time hesitantly, "Atemu…you don't have to answer this, but do you ever regret losing that duel, or did you plan to? I mean, did you go into it intending to lose?"

He shook his head again. "Anzu, I went into it intending to fight my very hardest to win. To throw it would have been an insult to myself and, even more, to Aib…Yugi. I owed him my very best, otherwise how else would he ever reach his full potential? But I knew from the start that Yugi would win. So, in a way, I guess I was planning to lose."

"How did you know he'd win?" She asked, curious. "I mean, Yugi's a great duelist, but…he didn't have nearly the experience–"

"I just knew." He looked away. "That day that Yugi and Jounouchi were forced to fight under Marik's control…after Yugi survived that, and I saw how he saved Jounouchi…that was the moment I knew that one day he'd surpass me. I knew…that Yugi had strength beyond anything I had. And I realized that Yugi will always be stronger without me. So, when the Ceremonial Battle came around, I could just tell…that was going to be it. But I don't regret my loss for a second. I lost because it was supposed to be that way. Yugi was sending me a message, don't you remember Ishizu telling you? A revived soul can't stay forever here on Earth. Yugi was telling me…he was going to be okay without me, and it was my time to go." He closed his eyes, but not before Anzu saw wetness in them.

Surprised at the sign of emotion, she thought about asking if he was okay, but then realized he didn't want her to see the tears. She carefully looked away.

"Anzu…you said that you fell in love with the person that saved you," Atemu began anew, his eyes clear when he re-opened them.

She nodded. "Yes, I…I did."

He was silent, watching her as if waiting for something. She swallowed. "Atemu…I still have those feelings for that person. For…for you. I've always loved you. And I know this is a terrible time, but I've always regretted not telling you…and I thought…I just need to know."

His eyes seemed deep with understanding, but he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Anzu." His voice was soft, apologetic. "I don't…"

Deep down, she'd known this answer was coming. "I understand."

"I never wanted…you know that I wouldn't want to cause you pain." He sighed heavily. "And I know…you're so kind, you'll tell me it's okay and you'll really mean it, but…I know how much unrequited love hurts, so I know you're not really okay. I'm truly sorry."

In the midst of the sadness from the inevitable let down, she felt a hint of confusion. "You've…felt unrequited love? For someone from this world? Or from Egypt?"

Atemu looked over at her, suddenly regretting what he'd let slip. He considered not answering, but she had just been so open with him and deserved an answer. Choosing his words carefully, he replied, "There is someone…in this world…who means a great deal to me. More…than any other person ever could. However I expect nothing in return, and have no plans to tell them. I don't want them to know, it would only cause trouble. This isn't my world."

She nodded, curious, but didn't ask for any elaboration.

"I hope…you'll forgive me."

"Atemu, there's nothing to forgive. Deep down I knew you didn't return my feelings. You were honest, what is there to forgive?"

"Yes, but…"

"You're my friend. This isn't changing that. Don't worry about it, okay?"

He smiled. "Thank you."

She smiled back. "We'd better go back inside before the others think we've been abducted by the spirits."

"Yes, I suppose."

"Thank you, Atemu. For listening. And for being honest with me."

"You're welcome. And Anzu…thank you…for the same."

"You're welcome."

* * *

**Notes:** Since family is visiting this weekend and all of next week, I have no idea when I'd be able to post, so I posted today. I admit, this chapter is mostly my tribute to Anzu, who is unfairly bashed in the majourity of Puzzleshippy fics - and Yugioh fics in general. I think everyone deserves a chance to apologize for any stupid moves they've made, and yet fanfic writers...tend not to allow her that. She and Atemu needed to have a sit-down as part of my plot anyway, and she deserved to be put in a good light, so I just combined them. Although it's not anything significant, I'm rather fond of the scene. I hope you guys like it too.

Plot points and Puzzleshipping next chapter though! :D


	5. Chapter 5

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 05  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

"The world's in danger and you're surfing the internet?" Honda asked in disbelief, peering over Marik's shoulder at the computer screen. After Anzu and Atemu had returned from their discussion, quiet but apparently unharmed, the conversation had continued. Marik had fallen silent part way through, and had disappeared into his room a few minutes before, where he was now glued to his computer.

"I'm trying to look something up."

"Could you be any more vague?" He grumbled. "First the phone call, now this. We're involved too, you know."

"Look, it'll take less time if I look it up rather than explain. Besides, my computer is set in Arabic and that sort of limits anybody else's ability to do anything on it. You guys had a long flight, why don't you relax for awhile?"

"Fine." He shook his head and returned to the living room where Jounouchi, Mai, and Anzu were now flipping channels in hopes of finding an English speaking one that Mai could translate for them.

"So what's Marik up to?" Jounouchi asked, looking up.

"He's online, researching…something..." He trailed off distractedly and glanced around. "Hey…where are Atemu and Yugi?"

"I think Yugi's trying to find him some decent clothes to wear."

- - -

In the bedroom Yugi dug through his backpack, pulling out clothing. He held out a shirt, underwear, and jeans, looking shyly toward the floor. "These should do. It's helpful that we still wear the same size."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry I don't have any shoes, I didn't think–"

"Really, this is fine. I appreciate it, Aib…" He trailed off quickly, reducing his voice to a mumble so that Yugi wouldn't catch what he said.

Yugi was too busy worrying about other things to really notice. He had turned around, and was now blushing as he thought of Atemu dressing behind him. He didn't know what to say, but this silence felt too awkward. Staring at the wall, he finally spoke up. "Atemu…earlier, when you went out to talk to Anzu, did she tell you…?" He stopped. "I'm sorry, that's too personal. It was a private conversation, forget I tried to ask."

"Yes, she told me how she felt," he answered anyway, tapping Yugi's shoulder to make him turn. Seeing him wearing a familiar outfit made Yugi's heart thump harder. "I can't say I never expected to hear the question."

"What did you say?"

"I told her the truth. I just don't have the same feelings for her."

Yugi nodded.

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings…please know that. I never intended…"

"Of course I know that, I know you'd never want to hurt any of our friends."

"I just don't feel the same. I couldn't lie to her."

"Atemu, you don't have to justify yourself," Yugi replied, confused. "At least, not to me."

"I think she'll be okay. You think she'll be okay, right?" He asked, somewhat anxiously.

"I'm sure. Anzu is really understanding." Yugi picked up the clothes from the villager. "What should we do with these?"

"I wish I could give them back…but I don't know how to find that man again."

"Perhaps give them to charity?" Yugi suggested. Atemu brightened.

"That's a good idea."

"I'll just fold them and leave them here until we – or I – well, Marik, I guess…can find a place to drop them off." Yugi quickly turned away, embarrassed. Over the course of one evening, he had become so used to having Atemu back in his life that he was already thinking of them as 'we.' Needing something to do, he pulled out the other clothes he'd stuffed in to fold them better, and there was a clink as a plastic wrapped package fell out.

"What's this?" Atemu asked, picking it up. He tilted his head. "Silver bracelets?"

"What?" Yugi took the package. "These are the bracelets I asked Grandpa to buy. How did they…" Then he remembered he had thrown them on his bed, the same place that he later threw his clothes for the trip. I must have accidentally scooped them up when I was packing.

"What are they for?"

Yugi smiled a little. "I was going to put them in an offering basket for you."

"A what?"

Yugi sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding the jewelry. "For Obon. We make baskets of offerings for the spirits that will be visiting us. Usually people just put food and flowers in them, but I figured…if your spirit was around, you'd be amused if you saw the bracelets in the basket. You remember…trying to convince me to wear more jewelry."

Atemu laughed. "I do remember that."

"I never did finish your basket," Yugi said softly. "I'd only just finished making your lantern when I got the call from Marik."

Atemu's expression softened. "I bet it was really nice."

"What, the basket or the lantern?"

"Either. Both."

"Then you'd be rather disappointed. I have no artistic talent. Even though I was really trying to make the best ones I could."

Sitting down beside him, Atemu touched his shoulder. "Ai– …I'm sure they were the best of all."

Yugi looked up. "Then it's really good you're here and not a spirit there, because believe me, they weren't the best. Our neighbours–"

"No, Aib…no. I believe they were the best. Because you were making them for me."

Understanding then, Yugi smiled slightly and nodded, then tilted his head. "Atemu…why do you keep stopping yourself each time you start to call me Aibou? You didn't have any problem with the name earlier."

"Oh…" He trailed off, not certain how to explain that talking to Anzu made him realize they were no longer partners, and that the nickname no longer fit. "I just…wasn't sure if you still wanted me to call you by it. It's an old name, I thought maybe you were tired of it."

"Well if I had a problem I'd have told you earlier, wouldn't I?" Yugi asked, smiling at him. Atemu didn't smile back. Amusement fading, Yugi touched his arm. "Atemu…what's wrong? It's okay. I really like that name. I want you to call me it." I've wished for months to hear you call me Aibou again, please don't stop now.

"Really?"

"Of course really!"

Atemu felt himself smile against his will, unable to resist the sound of Yugi's voice. "Okay…if you really don't mind. Honestly, I like using it."

"And I like hearing it." He let his fingers linger on his skin a few moments longer, then held up the bracelets to break away from the serious moment. "Grandpa was so confused about why I made him buy these. And now, if things work out right and the spirits go back and you go back with them…Obon will be over by then. I'll never even use them."

Atemu took the package. "Then can I have a few?"

"A few of the bracelets?"

"Yes."

"Sure," Yugi replied, puzzled. "Why?"

"I just…like the memories. That's all." He ripped the plastic and pulled out half of them, slipping them onto his wrist. He held his hand out. "See, and they look good, too."

"Here…" Yugi took the package back and dumped out the rest into his hand, putting them on his own wrist. "Now we each have half."

"See, I was right, they do look good on you, Aibou," Atemu said, smiling broadly. "If only you had listened to me when I told you before, Anzu would have completely forgotten her crush on me and been all over you."

Yugi laughed and smiled back, yet still felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He thinks I still like her. That would explain why he'd been so apologetic about turning her down. He looked at him and then, impulsively, decided to tell him.

"Atemu, I'm not in love with Anzu."

"But I thought…?"

"I was," he admitted. "I had a crush...but it's over with now, I grew out of it."

"Oh." Atemu nodded. "I…I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Yugi went back to folding his clothes. Atemu sat quietly, playing with the bracelets on his arm. He didn't seem in any hurry to return to the living room.

"Aibou?"

"Yes?"

"I've…really missed you. I've missed talking like this."

Yugi turned. "Atemu…"

"I'm glad…you seem to be doing well."

"Pretty well. But I've missed you, too." Yugi couldn't help wondering if Atemu really believed everything was okay. His other half had always been remarkably intuitive…and Yugi thought with a guilty pang about the nights he'd hidden his face in his pillow and cried out his loneliness. But if Atemu was aware of those, he wasn't saying anything.

Atemu opened his mouth as if to reply, then closed it and went back to playing with the jewelry. Yugi watched him for a moment, then returned to folding.

- - -

Scrolling through pages, Marik wasn't sure what he was looking for. However, he knew almost nothing about the Heliopolitans, and considering the role their text played in this, he thought it prudent to learn all he could. The internet was the only source available to him. A textbook would be better, but the library was closed this late, and he couldn't get hold of any experts till the next day at best.

"Heliopolitan Gods…"

That's part of the translation that didn't make much sense, he recalled. Why go through the trouble of designating a God-King when Pharaoh would have explained it just fine?

He shook his head.

_Stop it, questioning word choice isn't going to help._

He muttered to himself as he read. "Funerary Gods…creator Gods…women's deities…"

_'God'…why a God-King?_

He just couldn't stop wondering about that.

_Why not just a pharaoh?_

The word 'king' caught his eye on the page. As he read, he felt his heart drop.

_No way…could it…?_

But the more he read, the more sense it was making.

_Could it be…that it wasn't referring to a pharaoh at all?_

He got up, striding out the door. "Yugi? Atemu?"

- - -

Inside the room they heard Marik calling. Atemu got up and peered out. "Marik? What is it?"

"I've been looking up information on Heliopolitan culture. I found something…and it might seem radical, but if you think about it, it really makes sense."

"And that would be…?"

"I don't think the prophesy was referring to a pharaoh. Or at least…it wasn't intended to refer to a pharaoh."

"So that means I'm not involved after all?" Atemu asked.

"No, actually I think it means you're more involved than ever."

He just looked bewildered.

Marik sighed. "Have you ever heard of the God, Atum?"

Atemu and the others, who were now listening in curiosity, all shook their heads.

"Me neither until just now. He was a creator God. Some say the creator of the world. The people of the Heliopolis thought so."

"I thought Ra was the main God," Jounouchi interrupted.

"He is. But there are some groups that worshiped Atum first, and most ended up believing that Atum is an aspect of Ra. However, he was, at one time, considered a God in his own right, one possibly even stronger than Ra."

"Is there a point?" Atemu asked.

"Atum was also known as Atem and Atemu."

Atemu blinked. "Are you saying…?"

"Yes. I think it's possible…you might be a God."

* * *

Notes: It was Kazuki Takahashi's birthday yesterday, and I completely forgot. T-T I feel like such a bad fan. So here's an update for him. Happy belated birthday Takahashi-sama!  
Hooray, super special awesome plot twist...that everyone has probably already guessed where it's leading. xD; And Puzzleshipping. All in one chapter. Can't ask for much else, ne?


	6. Chapter 6

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 01  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

Honda laughed. "You're joking, right? Atemu isn't a God."

"I have to agree with Honda," Atemu said. "I'm a human."

"The prophecy referred to a God-King."

"Yes, which refers to a _pharaoh_."

"What if it doesn't?" Marik pressed. "If it meant a pharaoh, you'd think it would have referred simply to a ruler or a 'pharaoh.' What if it refers to a King…who is in fact a God? A God with a duty that he isn't aware of because he doesn't realize he's a God?"

"First of all, my name is just a name my parents chose, it's a coincidence. Secondly…I'm not a God!" Atemu shook his head, bangs flying. "It's a ridiculous idea. I'm just a person. I had a mother and father. And after I died I just became a spirit."

"A spirit who somehow created a solid body for himself."

"I didn't try to create this body, it just happened!" Atemu defended. "And besides, if I was a God, and I did come back to Earth, I'd turn into whatever my physical form was, which would be some sort of animal."

"Not necessarily."

"What?"

Marik shifted his weight. "The god Atum…his physical form was that of a man. A human."

The room went silent. Atemu noticed a few of his friends studying him with looks in their eyes as if the arguments made sense. He frowned.

"Okay, that's a coincidence too. If that's the only proof, that means that any man could conceivably be Atum in physical form. There's no other proof that I'm God-like in any way, much less this specific God."

"You made it through the underworld without a Book of the Dead."

"And what exactly does that prove?"

"All people were given a Book of the Dead!" Marik argued, raising his voice. "It was necessary; otherwise it's supposed to be impossible to navigate the other world. Yet you didn't go through any of the proper procedures, your body was never mummified or given the proper rites, your spirit simply entered the afterlife without any ritualism at all…"

"The Ceremonial Battle was a ritual, without it I wouldn't have been allowed to enter."

"It wasn't a normal ritual."

"Well something doesn't have to be normal to still work," he contended, somewhat snappishly. The Ceremonial Battle had been _painful_ for him…and now Marik spoke as if it was nothing.

"Anyway, how you entered isn't even a big deal compared to the fact that you navigated it without any help whatsoever. No normal human could do that. Or at least no normal human is supposed to be _able_ to do that. And don't even get me started on all the magic you were able to use–"

Atemu shook his head again, almost laughing. "Marik, I think you're entirely off track. You just want this to be the answer because it makes everything simpler. I'm not a God. If I was a God…I would know it. I would remember it. But I was a normal person who had a family and a life…and yes it's weird that my spirit conjured a body when whatever happened that forced me out of the underworld, but I'm sure there's an explanation that we'll understand later on."

"Fine. But I'm going and doing more research."

"Alright, you do that."

Marik vanished from the room.

"A God…" Jounouchi mused.

"Jounouchi, please tell me you don't believe that story."

"Well it's worth considering."

"Anzu, not you too!"

"We have to consider everything at this point,"she replied sensibly. "That doesn't mean it's real."

"I guess that's true." Atemu sat down with a sigh on the couch. "Besides…even if I am a God…that doesn't really have anything to do with this situation. Marik never mentioned what sort of 'duty' I'm supposed to have, or what that might have to do with the world getting overrun in evil spirits. It isn't important. Sorry for snapping."

"It's alright. It's been a long day…we should all get some sleep. Or at least a decent meal, Marik has nothing to eat around here," Mai said.

"There's a store nearby that we passed in the taxi, I'll go pick up some food," Anzu volunteered.

"But Anzu…the spirits. There's already been murders, it's dangerous to go walk around alone."

"I think I'll be safe. None of the murders were in this neighbourhood. I'll be right back, I promise."

"And bring dessert!" Jounouchi chimed in, all talk of Gods and spirits forgotten.

Anzu shook her head as she left. As everyone else drifted away, Yugi sat down beside Atemu.

"Do you believe that story too, Aibou?" Atemu asked.

"I don't really believe anything yet, it's all too unsure. I'd rather wait for real proof."

"You're right. I probably shouldn't have gotten so upset though, Marik's worried, we all are. It would be convenient if he was right, I don't blame him for hanging onto the possibility."

"Well, God or not, you're still Atemu to us." Yugi said, patting his arm with a smile. Atemu smiled back.

"Hey Yugi, Atemu, you guys want to play cards with us?" Honda asked, waving a pack of playing cards from where he and the others sat grouped around the table.

Yugi looked at Atemu. "It'll help pass the time."

"You go, I'm thirsty and was about to get some water. I'll join the next game."

"Alright."

- - -

In the other room, Marik was in the process of translating. He had found very few websites in Arabic that discussed Atum, and was now reading over Japanese sites, trying to pick out information. But while he was fluent in speaking the language, he wasn't so great at reading it.

The heading of a sub-article caught his eye.  
_  
What is this?_

He could barely believe what it said, he figured he must have mis-translated. He thought about asking one of the others to come and read it for him, then changed his mind, opting to search for an online page translator instead.  
_  
No sense in worrying them yet…I might be entirely wrong about the context…_

The computer rumbled as it processed.

_I must be wrong; this will verify it without ever having to freak any of the others out._

The translation appeared on the screen. Marik's heart sank. Instead of bringing relief, it only confirmed what he'd read the first time.  
_  
The end of the world?_

- - -

Yugi was about to take his turn when Marik left his bedroom, looking around.

"Something wrong, Marik?" He asked, looking up from the game.

"Where's Atemu?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"The kitchen, I think he said he was going to get some water–"

"Okay, good. I need to talk to you." Marik grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the second bedroom. He caught a glimpse of his friends' quizzical expressions, all craning their necks to watch, before Marik closed the door.

"Marik? What's going on?"

"I found out what Atum's purpose is."

"Okay."

"It's the end of the world."

"What?"

"The end of the world. It's an unusual concept in ancient Egyptian mythology, but the Heliopolitans thought that the God Atum was supposed to bring it about."

"That's crazy."

"Maybe not. Atemu had powers of darkness, right?"

"Yes, but he didn't use them to do evil," Yugi countered impatiently, rather annoyed. "And shouldn't you be discussing this with Atemu, not me?"

"He's already mad that I insinuated he might be a God, even though I think I'm right. If he knew about this…"

"Well I think you're basing it on a lot of assumptions. I think Atemu was right, you're just holding onto this theory because it's convenient."

"Look, all I'm saying is he randomly appeared on Earth. When he did, evil spirits began leaving the underworld. We assumed Atemu appeared here because the underworld opened, but what if _he_ unconsciously opened it?"

Yugi was silent.

"Yugi…Atemu's our friend, I don't want to believe he'd destroy everything, but if he is the God Atum…then by trying to save the world he's been ignorant of his true duty all along, which is to plunge it back into nothingness. It's possible that the opening of the underworld is the first step. Atum was affiliated with light and Ra, but he also drew power from darkness. He could have easily opened the underworld to begin–"

"You're acting as if there's no difference between Atum and Atemu!" Yugi snapped, angered at the insinuations that Atemu would kill them all, but before he could go on there was a loud bang, and then Mai opened the door to the room, saying in confusion,

"Atemu just ran out of here looking really upset…any idea what _that's_ all about?"

Yugi glared at Marik. "Let me guess. The kitchen shares a wall with this room, doesn't it?"

Marik sighed.

"Look what you've done!" Yugi shouted. "Don't you care about Atemu's feelings at all? You hurt him! You're so determined to make Atum and Atemu into one person, when that's not true. Even if Atemu is Atum, he's still Atemu to all of us. He's got a past with us, he's got a life and he's human to us."

"Yugi…"

"You're saying this all fits together because you're _making_ it all fit together! Until Atemu himself believes that he's Atum, I refuse to believe it!"

His shouting at attracted the startled glances of their friends; Yugi rarely ever raised his voice. Marik took a step back.

"So you can just go back to your computer, and back to your theories, and don't come talk to us again until you have proof of what you're saying! And maybe _then_ you'll have the decency to talk to him face-to-face!" Yugi wheeled around and stormed out of the room. "Come on guys, we have to go find Atemu. He could get hurt running around this city alone."

Honda, Jounouchi and Mai all glanced back at Marik helplessly, then followed Yugi.

* * *

**Notes:** Someone pointed out to me (and to the characters) that playing card games isn't exactly helping, since, y'know, obon ends soon and the world is in danger and all. And that made me think. And the sort of sad thing about Yugioh...is that playing card games while the world is in danger is entirely canon. xD And I love that about the series.

Not much else to say about this one. I'm very fond of protective Yugi, so that scene in general, even if I feel sort of sorry for Marik, makes me happy. x3


	7. Chapter 7

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 07  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

Anzu had almost returned to Marik's house when she spotted a familiar figure running from it.

"Atemu? Hey! Atemu!" She tried to wave, but he ignored her and kept running. Inside the house she heard shouting, and suddenly had a bad feeling. Making a split-second choice, she went after him.

"Atemu! Slow down, it's me, Anzu!" She called, reaching for him as he slowed at a corner, managing to grab his wrist. He stopped, but didn't look at her. "Atemu? What's going on?"

He dropped to the ground, his arm limp in her grasp, his breath shaky from running.

Anzu knelt beside him. "Atemu? Are you okay?"

"I…he…they were talking…"

"What? I don't understand. Start from the beginning."

"I…was in the kitchen. And…Marik…came out to talk to Ai–" He stopped, realized who he was talking to, and corrected himself, "Yugi. He took Yugi into the other room…but I still overheard the conversation." He swallowed.

"The God…that Marik thinks I am…is supposed to cause the end of the world. Th-that's the duty…I've been ignorant of."

"Oh Atemu, nobody knows that," She tried to comfort him. "There's no proof that you're Atum. And besides, if he was a creator God I'm sure he had a lot of duties, it doesn't mean it's that one."

He didn't seem to be listening, his head down as he spoke. "I don't want to cause the end of the world…I…don't want to hurt…h-him…and Marik went behind my back to tell Yugi…to tell him…that I was going to destroy all of you...It's my fault the underworld opened and my fault…those poor people were killed…"

At that moment, Anzu realized the reason his voice was so shaky wasn't because he was panting from running…but because he was trying to speak around sobs.

"Atemu..."

His voice rose, almost manic. "I d-don't want to be a God. Yugi will hate me…the rest of you will hate me. I don't want to hurt anyone…I don't want him to hate me."

This was twice he'd mentioned 'him.'

"Atemu, are you talking about Yugi? You don't want to hurt Yugi?"

He bowed his head, tears sliding down his face as he struggled for control. It reminded her of how he'd acted when he was telling her about the Ceremonial Battle and Yugi. That was the same conversation he had admitted to having feelings for someone here on Earth in.

Suddenly, she knew what was really causing him to cry.

"It's him, isn't it?" She asked softly. "When you told me you knew what unrequited love felt like…you were talking about Yugi."

Atemu closed his eyes. "It wasn't supposed to happen. I was never supposed to…"

"You did nothing wrong."

"Yes, I did. I did the worst thing possible. Falling for him…was the worst thing I could have ever done. Because of it, I hoped…for just a moment…that he would lose the Ceremonial Duel. So that…I wouldn't have to leave him."

Now she knew why he'd been so understanding when she told him she'd hoped he wouldn't leave.

"It hurts," he whispered. "I never…honestly believed we would have anything…so it shouldn't hurt, but it does. The more I think about it…the more it hurts." His arms rose, wrapping around his head and shoulders as he shook, choking, "Why does it hurt so much?!"

She didn't know what to do. Part of her was still in shock from the truth, and the other just felt pity, seeing him so hurt. "Atemu…" She touched his shoulder, feeling him flinch.

"It's horrible, Anzu. This isn't my world. The fact that I'm in this world is bad, because it means something is wrong. I knew there was no good reason for me to reappear here, yet when I realized where I was, and I realized I was back here in your time…my first thought was that I could see Yugi. I should have been worrying about why I was here. I should have been trying to figure out how to go back to my world. But instead…all I thought about…was that maybe I could see him again."

"Atemu, that isn't a crime. You love him, wanting to see him is natural."

"We all know I can't stay." He mumbled, seemingly babbling as she patted his shoulder helplessly. "We all know…that I have to find a way to make those spirits go back and then I must go back. And even if I could stay…I could never tell him…he can never know…"

"Why? Because you're afraid he'll turn you down?"

"No…I…I would understand if he didn't feel the same. I could deal with that. I'm more afraid…of hurting him."

"You wouldn't hurt Yugi, Atemu. I know that for a fact."

He shook his head. "You remember…back before Battle City, when we were only just starting to understand the Millennium Items…I wasn't going to tell him why I was entering that tournament, because I thought he wasn't ready to know. But shortly after he found out anyway…and even though I know it hurt him, he kept on fighting for my sake. And Anzu…only now, after it's all over, have I realized…I was the one who wasn't ready to know. I wasn't ready to know…that he didn't need me."

"Oh, Atemu." She gave him a half-hug, wishing she could help, understanding all too well the kind of pain he felt.

"Ai…I mean…"

"It's okay to call him 'Aibou,'" she said gently. "Even if you're not speaking directly to him."

"Aibou…used to always say that I was his goal. But he never knew…that he was my goal." Atemu looked up at her. "To achieve the kind of strength he has, the kindness and open heart that he has…is something I've never been able to do. I knew the idea of making me leave hurt him, but he knew how badly I wanted to discover who I was, and he gave up so much for me. To tell him…would be to disrespect all the pain he put himself through for me. I owe him so much, so why…_why_ can't I control my emotions for him?"

"Would it really be so bad if he knew? What if you were allowed to stay here?"

"Yes." He took in a long shuddering breath, sounding as if he was forcing out the words. "I can never be with him. The only way Aibou can keep growing…is if I'm not in his life. I saw that…when he and Jounouchi fought. I saw it in the Ceremonial Battle. If I told him…if I tried to stay with him…I would always just hold him back."

Watching him struggle with the words, she remembered only hours earlier listening to him tell her, _"And I realized that Yugi will always be stronger without me."_

_Yugi's freedom is all that he can give him,_ she realized._ Letting Yugi go to reach his potential strength is the only way Atemu can show him his love._

"Yugi's lucky," she finally said. "He's lucky to have someone like you who cares so much about him."

Atemu swallowed, eyes squeezed shut. "He's not lucky. Aibou will hate me…if I…have to destroy…. I don't _care_ if he doesn't love me, but I can't live if he h-hates me…" His words faded back into sobs. She put her other arm around him, hugging him for real.

"Yugi's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay. Forget what Marik said. We'll work the prophesy out and fix things. Yugi won't hate you. You never wanted this to happen, and Yugi could never hate you."

"Atemu? Atemu!" Someone else's voice echoed nearby.

"Who's that?" Anzu asked, looking around.

"The others must be looking for me." He murmured.

At that moment, Jounouchi walked around the corner and saw them on the ground. He hurried forward. "Anzu, Atemu! Are you guys alright?"

Anzu stood up quickly. "We're fine, Jounouchi. Atemu just needed some alone time."

"Yugi's really worried…what with the news going on about murders and everything."

"Then let's go tell him that he's okay. Atemu will come back to the house soon, right?" She asked, looking back at him.

Atemu nodded, wiping his eyes. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Alright." Jounouchi left, but not without a quick worried glance over his shoulder at the man huddled on the sidewalk.

"Thank you," Atemu whispered to Anzu as she looked back at him.

"It's okay." She replied, bending down to pick up the bags. "Come back soon, alright? You heard Jounouchi, Yugi is worried about you."

"Anzu…I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to…deal with this. What with everything, and how you feel about me, you never should have had to–"

"Don't worry about it. Really Atemu, I'm just glad I could be here."

"Can I ask you for a favour?"

"Sure."

"Don't tell Aibou what I told you tonight…okay?"

"Yugi has a way of finding things out," She replied. "You remember…that didn't work before."

"Not this. This is different. Please…don't tell him."

"I won't."

- - -

Yugi was lying on the guest bed when he heard the front door open. Jounouchi had found him and told him he'd found Atemu and that he was alright, but Yugi still felt a worried knot in his stomach and had gone into the room to lie down and avoid the others. He lifted his head at the sound of the door. Outside there was some muted discussion, and then a figure slipped into the room.

"Aibou?"

Yugi sat up quickly. "Atemu?"

"Um… Marik managed to contact Ishizu, they're working out some sort of plan…and Anzu has food, and everyone is talking about sleeping arrangements…if you'd like to come join in."

"Oh…okay."

Atemu lingered by the door. Then he stepped forward. "I'm sorry Aibou. For running out. I know…it's dangerous…I shouldn't have scared you all."

Yugi shook his head, standing. "You had every right to. Marik never should have come and tried to discuss…what he found…with me before talking to you."

"He's just worried, he didn't mean any harm. He told me he was sorry, but he didn't really need to. I understand, I'm worried too. And he might have a point. I...I'm not saying I fully believe…that I'm supposed to be Atum, but…if I am…" His voice bordered on pleading. "Aibou, if I have a choice, I wouldn't…I would never…"

Yugi shook his head again, walking closer, looking up at him. "Atemu, I don't believe that you would ever bring about the end of the world. God, pharaoh, or human. Even if that is your duty, I know you will find a way to save everyone instead of killing them. I believe in you. I know you, you'd find a way around that duty."

Atemu looked down at him, and felt his heart flutter as he looked into the violet eyes he remembered so well…perhaps too well. He smiled slightly. "That means a lot."

Yugi smiled back at him, then lowered his eyes and moved toward the door. "We'd better get out there, before all the good sleeping places get claimed."

"Good idea."

- - -

"I am _not_ sleeping on the floor."

"Well I'm not sleeping upright in a chair!"

"I call the couch–"

"No way, I already claimed the couch."

"Then I call the guest bed."

"Well if I have to sleep on the floor I want to be in the guest bedroom, it has nicer carpet."

"I think Mai and Anzu should get the bedroom, they're girls."

"How very chivalrous of you…but I think Atemu should get the bedroom, he's the one under the most stress."

"Stress? There's evil spirits attacking! We're all stressed!"

Atemu and Yugi, having just left the bedroom and walked into the middle of the argument, glanced at each other. "Er…"

"Ah, Atemu, Yugi, good. Where do you guys want to sleep?"

"Anywhere is fine," Atemu said quickly, deciding on the spot that no sleeping place was worth the fight. Yugi nodded. "Yeah."

"This is ridiculous, we'll never stop arguing long enough to get any sleep," Mai said. "Why don't we just draw names?"

Everyone went silent.

"That's a good idea," Marik said, jumping up. "I'll get paper."

- - -

Yugi ended up with the guest bed.

"I feel kind of bad about this," He said as he pulled down the covers, looking down at the floor at Jounouchi, who had 'won' the guest bedroom floor with the thicker carpet. "Everyone else is either in chairs or on the floor…"

"Don't argue Yugi, just enjoy it and get some sleep."

"Atemu has to sleep out on the floor in the living room, and I get a bed. That's really unfair. He's the one dealing with the most right now. Worrying about the prophecy and what to do…he should have at least gotten the couch."

"Mai offered to switch with him, but he insisted he should stick with what he got by lottery."

"Honourable to the core, that's Atemu." Yugi sighed and stretched out in bed. "Good night Jounouchi."

"'Night Yugi."

Surprisingly, Yugi found that after lying down he felt incredibly tired. He had planned to stay up and try to think about the situation and what they should do, but within moments he was asleep.

A half hour later, Atemu sighed and got up. He'd been staring at the ceiling ever since they went to bed, and while Honda, Anzu, and Mai all seemed to have fallen asleep quickly, he couldn't. He planned to go get a glass of water just for something to do, but as he passed the guest room he found himself taking a detour to peer in. Jounouchi was snoring, and Yugi seemed to be fast asleep as well.

Tip-toeing inside, Atemu located the foot of the bed and sat down, gazing at Yugi sadly.

He still looked so innocent. Time had not changed him much since they'd parted.

_Aibou…_

He was taken back to when he was the spirit of the Puzzle. Sometimes at night he had done this…sat and watched Yugi quietly, trying to send him good thoughts to protect him from nightmares, wondering about their future.

A strange feeling, half soft and half anguish, churned inside of him as he sat quietly, watching the bedcovers move as Yugi breathed. He was still wearing his bracelets. Atemu resisted the want to stroke his hair, just sitting there in the twilight.

_Aibou, can I watch over you tonight…just one more time?_

* * *

**Notes:** Overuse of ellipsis FTW. xD Well eventually Atemu was going to have to be all *aaaaanngst* because anyone who knows me knows there are very few things I love more in this world than Atemu angst.

I'm getting worried about people being disappointed at the lack of action in this. I mean, all the characters are doing is _talking_. Which is what I had intended for realism's sake, the whole scenario I came up with just couldn't involve action, all the conflict is on an internal level...but still, it's making me worried. Even though I never even insinuated there would be action in the first place, I'm still worried. *shrugs helplessly*

Hopefully-exciting plot thingy and minor fanservice next chapter, though, I promise. ;3

Apologies if things seem slow. Doing NaNoWriMo (32K+ already!) and my brain is totally scattered. Hopefully updates will be regular.


	8. Chapter 8

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 08  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

Yugi was warm…warm and happy. There was a steady thumping noise nearby, and every time he breathed in he enjoyed a silky, comforting scent that left him feeling relaxed. A fuzzy contentment with the whole world had filled him inside.

With a happy sigh he snuggled against the chest of the person holding him, moving his head for a better angle to feel the heartbeat against his cheek.

"Atemu…" he murmured, fingers curling on the velvet of his skin. He heard a small chuckle and felt warm breath on his ear as Atemu nuzzled him. It tickled, enough to make Yugi shiver and curl up closer, nosing his way into the protective crook of Atemu's neck. "Mn…Atemu?"

"Yes Aibou?"

"I love you."

He could hear the smile in Atemu's voice when he said, "I love you too."

"You promise?" He asked playfully, smiling back against him, brushing his throat with his lips.

"I promise." Atemu rubbed his back, finding all of Yugi's favourite places, enticing a small purr from the young man in his arms and causing Yugi to momentarily forget what they were talking about.

"I'm glad," He finally replied, coming back to the present and lifting his head long enough to look down through half-closed eyes into the crimson and purple irises gazing back at him. "Atemu, please don't go away again."

"I don't want to go." Atemu raised one arm to caress his cheek. "I want to stay right here. If it's okay with you."

Yugi smiled at the touch, and reached out to stroke Atemu's dark face back, allowing his fingers to drift over his lips. "I'd like that." He lowered his head, eyes closing. His fingers slid down to stroke the strands of hair at the nape of Atemu's neck as he turned his head to capture his lips with his own.

Before they could touch, he felt himself falling. Even before he felt the bed or opened his eyes he knew it had only been a dream.

Yet…he still felt warm.

But that made no sense…

It also made no sense that he could smell that familiar relaxing scent in the air, when he knew he was definitely awake. But what was it?

Still sleepy and wishing to return to his dream, he tried to tug the blankets up to roll over and go back to sleep, but something heavy was holding them down. Confused, he opened his eyes and shook his head, lifting himself up. Then he froze.

Atemu was stretched out beside him.

He looked around for a moment, and noted that it was daylight in the room and Jounouchi had vanished. Outside the room, if he strained to hear, he could make out some hushed voices, but not what they were saying. Turning, he looked back down at the man beside him. He lay on his side, head resting against one arm, his hair tousled and falling in his face. Only one closed eyelid and the sparkle of bracelets were discernable through the strands. His breathing was remarkably gentle. Yugi had to lean in close to hear it.

_How long has he been there?_

Yugi had been so exhausted, he couldn't remember waking up in the night. So he had no way of knowing when Atemu had come in. But why was he there at all?

Then he remembered once, many months ago, waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. Atemu had offered to watch over him for the rest of the night to prevent the nightmare from coming back. And after that, every so often, Yugi would sometimes wake with the odd feeling that someone was watching out for him. He had never spoken to Atemu about it…he didn't want him to become embarrassed and stop…but he had always suspected, even up until their last night on the ship, that Atemu was guarding his dreams.

_Atemu…did you stay up to watch over me again?_

He smiled a little, noticing how uncharacteristically soft and vulnerable Atemu looked. He reached out to brush some of Atemu's hair out of his face, and sighed softly.

_You're not a spirit right now, your body needs rest too. I know all of this is stressful on you…you need sleep more than ever. So why would you stay up for me?_

With no answer for himself, the question was left open. So he lay back down and closed his eyes, drinking in the soft scent of Atemu's body and letting himself pretend, for just a moment, that his dream was real.

- - -

Twenty minutes later Atemu awoke. He felt surprisingly refreshed and rolled onto his back to stretch, when his hand brushed Yugi's shoulder and he realized where he was.

Going pale, he jumped out of the bed, backing away in a panic.

_I must have fallen asleep. How could I have fallen asleep?!_

Luckily, Yugi didn't move.

_He's still sleeping…maybe he hasn't woken up yet…maybe he'll never find out._

But that hope vanished when Atemu noticed that Jounouchi wasn't in the room.

_Oh no… He groaned in his mind. Jounouchi will have undoubtedly seen…he'll tell Aibou and then…Gods damn it,_ how _could I have gone and fallen asleep?!_

Outside the room he could hear voices. Great, the others were awake too…there would be no way to sneak back out to his original sleeping spot.

_I must think of an excuse for being in here…_

He was putting away the extra blanket?

No, that wouldn't do, he'd left the blanket in the living room.

He had come in to see if Yugi was awake?

Depending on how long the others had been awake that might be plausible, but he had a feeling they'd been up long enough for his absence to be abnormally long.

Perhaps he could just say nothing. Maybe they wouldn't ask.

But Anzu would know…why on Earth had he told her the truth last night? At the time getting the words out had felt right, but now he regretted giving into the weakness.

Finally, he pulled a book off the shelf in the room and opened it to a random page. Then he waited, till several minutes later as Yugi stirred, and he began flipping pages.

Yugi slowly sat him and look at him. "Atemu?"

"Huh? Oh…Aibou. G-good morning."

"What are you doing?"

"I came in to see if you were awake…and then was just checking the books out."

Yugi frowned slightly. "Atemu, all of those books are in Arabic. You can't speak, much less read that language."

"I was just looking…Arabic is an interesting-looking language." He closed the book and set it back on the shelf. "I'll leave now." He left the room. Yugi blinked.

_He's pretending like he was never sleeping in here._

He considered going after him and asking him if he really had stayed up, but then Yugi made the choice to honour Atemu's wishes. If he was trying to keep it a secret, he must have a reason.

- - -

Outside the room, Atemu found Anzu and Mai in the kitchen making toast and tea, muttering insults toward Honda, who seemed to have insinuated that because they were girls, breakfast was their job. The door to Marik's room was still closed, and Jounouchi was mysteriously absent.

Atemu caught Anzu's eye, as well as the slightly raised eyebrow she gave him as Yugi shuffled by. Atemu shook his head the slightest bit from side to side, in the hopes that she would interpret his meaning to be 'don't talk about it' and went to pick up the blanket and pillow he hadn't used.

"Where's Jounouchi?" He asked Honda.

"He went outside to get the paper off the doorstep."

"Did he…say anything to you guys?" He asked, lowering his voice as Yugi emerged from the bathroom.

Honda frowned. "About what?"

"Oh, nothing." He backed off in relief.

Honda eyed him suspiciously, but before he could ask anything else Mai entered the room and thrust a piece of toast at him with a glare. "Here, eat your toast, you sexist pig."

"Look, I said I was sorry about the cooking joke!"

The front door opened and Jounouchi entered, a newspaper under his arm. Seemingly ignoring them, he sat down the couch and opened it.

"Uh…Jounouchi?" Mai asked. "That paper's in Arabic."

He nodded mildly, his eyes moving as if scanning the page.

"How cute, he's pretending he learned a new language overnight." Honda reached for the paper. Jounouchi pulled it closer, glaring.

"Hey, it's rude to try to take a paper away when someone is trying to read it!"

"Jounouchi, we all know you can't read Arabic," Yugi said, amused. "First Atemu and now you, I swear."

Atemu blushed and looked down at his feet.

A cagey look on his face, Jounouchi shook his head. "I can read this. I uh…just never told you."

"You never told us you can read a language you've never seen before," Mai said, her voice patronizing.

The teen was looking more and more worried by the second. "Sure…see, the headline says: Residents' Odd Behaviours 'Unexplainable,' Say Scientists."

At that moment the door to Marik's room opened and he walked out, stretching. "Good morning guys."

"Marik, translate this headline for us," Honda grabbed the paper and thrust it at him. Bewildered, he looked down at it. "Um…Residents' Odd Behaviours 'Without Explanation' Say Scientists."

"No way." Mai glanced back and forth between Marik and Jounouchi. "Jounouchi was right?"

"Okay, who'd you get to translate this for you?" Honda asked.

Jounouchi looked guilty, and oddly panicked. Yugi frowned, advancing forward and studying his friend. His eyebrows contracted.

"You're not really Jounouchi, are you?"

There was a collective gasp of realization. The blond grimaced, glancing around nervously, then burst out, "It wasn't my fault, I didn't _mean_ to possess him!"

* * *

Notes: *sing songs* Faaaaaaanserviiiiiiiice. Okay, I'll admit it, that whole dream sequence was just for the squee factor. Hey, it's a holiday, who doesn't want a little Puzzleshippy fanservice for the holidays? Besides, the chapter did do some stuff to advance the plot too...

Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Americans. x3


	9. Chapter 9

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 09  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

The room seemed to come to a stand-still, but that was quickly broken as in a blur of purple and blond Mai strode forward and smacked Jounouchi hard across the face.

"Mai!" Anzu gasped, having just emerged from the kitchen to see the commotion. "What's she doing?"

"Get out of Jounouchi, you slimy, body-stealing ghost!" she shouted, cocking back her hand and smacking him again.

Jounouchi cowered, covering his head. "I'm sorry!"

"Ghost?" Anzu asked, looking around. "Guys…what's going on?"

Yugi sprang forward and grabbed Mai's arm. "Mai, you're going to knock him out at this rate."

"Good!"

"No, not good!" He argued. "This spirit doesn't seem to be a bad one like the one you and Jounouchi met. This one might be able to help us figure out what's going on."

She lowered her arm, yanking it away from Yugi's grasp. "Fine," she muttered, retreating to a nearby chair and glaring venomously.

"Okay, so who are you?" Atemu asked, folding his arms.

"My name is Hanif. I used to live in this country, that's how I could read the paper. What language is this, by the way?"

"Japanese."

"Ah…interesting. I've never been able to speak Japanese before. Or understand it…"

"Stop using Jounouchi's ability to speak Japanese for your amusement!" Mai snapped.

Yugi sighed. "What she means is, get back to your story. Why did you possess Jounouchi?"

"I didn't have a choice, I told you. I just kind of…did. Without thinking about it."

"Do you know why this is going on?" Atemu asked.

"Well…evil spirits have controlled the underworld for a long time. I was told there was a God that protected it at one time, but that stopped long before I died and entered the afterlife. Then recently the evil spirits grew excited, because there were rumours that the underworld was about to open–"

"When exactly _did_ you die?" Honda interrupted curiously.

"Around fifty years ago."

"Hey…but you're Islamic, aren't you?"

Hanif nodded.

"Then how did you end up in the Egyptian afterlife?!"

"All the afterworlds are the same thing," Atemu said impatiently. "It doesn't matter what religion you are, you're all going to the same place. Now, the underworld opening…?" He prompted. "What's this about a protector?"

"Right. Apparently the protector of the underworld has been gone for a long time, but all of the evil in the underworld was still trapped down there, because there's a barrier. However recently…only a few months ago…a rift was opened."

Marik's eyes widened. "A rift…the prophecy mentioned a rift, we'd forgotten all about that! And a few months ago was when Atemu returned–"

"Stop interrupting him!" Yugi snapped. "Hanif, go on."

"A rift was opened. It closed, but it left an irregular patch on the underworld. A weak point. And everyone was excited, and saying the time was coming. There was going to be a human festival, one that would create a lot of spiritual energy as certain spirits were welcomed back. The evil spirits took advantage of that, and the moment the festival began, they were able to force their way out, using the weak place that the rift created. The rest of us were pulled along."

"So why did you possess Jounouchi again?"

"I didn't mean to. It just happened. I don't think the spirits get to choose the people they possess. I think they can resist possessing someone for awhile, because I did for awhile. I didn't want to possess anybody. But spirits need a host to live on Earth properly so there's no choice. I sort of accidentally possessed him. I planned to un-possess him, but I'm stuck, I don't know how to reverse the process."

"So the entire underworld has opened?" Yugi asked.

"As far as I know."

_  
That means my family…Mahaado…Mana…they could all be somewhere on Earth right now, forced to possess people too, _Atemu thought. He spoke up. "Why hasn't any other God or Goddess done anything? Surely there are other powerful deities, like the Western God–"

"Gods of light, including the Western one, don't have the power to _control_ the underworld, just the ability to guide and protect the spirits who worshipped them. Their power weakens in the face of darkness. They can help out individual spirits, but they can't control something like this. And dark Gods don't mind the chaos, so they aren't stopping anything."

"What about the God that was supposed to guard the underworld?" Atemu asked. "What happened to him? Does this have anything to do with the end of the world?"

"The end of the world? No…I haven't heard anything about that." Jounouchi's shoulders shrugged. "As for the God, I don't know. Like I said, I only died fifty years ago, go find one of the spirits that've been around for three thousand years or so, they could probably tell you."

_  
Three thousand years?_

"Are you sure it was three thousand years ago that he vanished?" Atemu demanded. "The God?"

"I don't know, I think so." He looked nervous and confused.

Atemu could feel someone watching him, and when he turned he saw Yugi looking quickly away.  
_  
Aibou's realized it too._

Three thousand years was too much of a coincidence.

"Marik?" He asked, turning. "In your research, did Atum have anything to do with the underworld?"

"Yeah, I think so. It was mentioned, but I…got sort of distracted by the end of the world issue, as you know."

"Go look it up again, find out everything you can."

Marik shook his head. "I don't have to. Ishizu has a book on the Heliopolis, it will be a lot more reliable and detailed. I called her and she's flying in today via government jet, it's faster than a commercial airline. She should be here in about an hour."

"Alright." Yugi nodded, and glanced at Atemu. He could see the shadows in his eyes, but decided not to say anything quite yet. Instead he looked back at Hanif in Jounouchi's body. "Thank you for telling us what you know, Hanif."

"You're welcome. It's really interesting, speaking Japanese."

"Well whoop-ee for you," Mai growled.

Hanif fell into a fearful silence, shrinking back.

Atemu had stepped away from the group, drifting into the kitchen to get away from the others. Yugi followed him.

"Atemu?"

"Yes Aibou?" He asked quietly.

"It's going to be okay."

Atemu raised his eyes, meeting Yugi's. He could see the concern in Yugi's expression. "Aibou…"

Across the room, Honda was now studying Jounouchi with interest. "So where do you think Jounouchi is right now?"

"Probably inside his soul room," Anzu replied.

"I've always wondered what the inside of my soul room looks like."

"Well, go and get possessed and maybe you'll find out."

"I'll have to ask Jounouchi what his is like when he comes back."

"Wouldn't surprise me if his room was blank…" Mai grumbled. "After all, he let himself get possessed, the idiot."

Yugi noticed Atemu watching. "They're going to be okay too."

Atemu lowered his eyes and sat down at the table.  
_  
I want to thank you, Aibou. But…if I am Atum…and this is my fault…I caused your best friend to become possessed. How can you not be angry?_

It came as a blow to him…somehow, he'd overlooked the possibility that one of _them_ may become possessed. Now came the hard reminder that they weren't invincible, and not exempt from what was happening. And now finding a solution was ten times more important, yet they were no closer to one. But if they didn't find one, they might never get Jounouchi back.

Yugi watched him quietly, waiting, then turned. "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone."

Atemu's eyes flicked up, watching him go, wishing he'd asked him not to.

* * *

An hour later Ishizu's plane touched down. Shortly after there was a knock on the front door, and both Ishizu and Rishid entered.

"Rishid, I didn't know you were coming too." Marik said.

"Well, Ishizu managed to find someone to say the tomb was extremely unstable and could collapse at any moment. Excavation has been suspended indefinitely. So…I have no work at the moment. Besides, I heard Atemu was back."

The one named slunk into the room. Rishid bowed his head. "It's an honour to see you again."

"And you," Atemu returned politely, if quietly, before the others hurried in for their welcome.

Ishizu took a book from her purse. "This is the only text I had on hand about the Heliopolis, but it should have the information you wanted. I did some reading during the flight–"

"Is there anything about the underworld?" Yugi asked.

"The underworld? Marik told me to look for information about the _end_ of the world." She frowned.

"Yes, but there's been a change in theory. We have some inside information," Marik corrected.

"Inside…?"

"Jounouchi's been possessed." He pointed toward the blond haired young man who was currently studying Mai's cell phone with great interest. "Luckily it's been a helpful spirit. He said he hasn't heard anything about the end of the world, but the underworld and the underworld's safety are both involved."

"Okay, the underworld it is." She sat down and began flipping pages. When she finally raised her head, everyone sat up straighter.

"Well?" Marik asked.

"The God Atum…was a creator God, and is considered the protector of the underworld," she said, running her finger down the page. "He protects the deceased from dangers. In legend he killed the snake Neheb-Khau and the Apep serpent."

"A protector God, that's just like what Hanif told us," Honda said.

"Couldn't any creator God do that though?" Yugi asked. "Like Ra?"

"Unlike the later sun God, Ra, he doesn't lose his powers in the face of the underworld. He often represents the setting sun or the black sun. I would guess that Atum has powers that Ra doesn't. Ra can't interfere with trouble in the underworld, but Atum had the ability to."

"What about Osiris? Osiris took care of the dead, didn't he?"

"It's interesting that you should ask about Osiris," she said, flipping pages. "He was mentioned in the information about the end of the world."

"He was?" Anzu asked. "Where?"

"His name is a Greek name. His original hieroglyph was Wesir. Supposedly, he and Atum would be the only Gods who survived the end of the world. However," she continued, before anyone could interrupt, "in reference to your question, Yugi, Osiris is a funerary God. He was depicted as a mummy. His power lay in guiding the dead to the fields of peace, not protecting them."

"What about Anubis? He protects the dead."

Ishizu was beginning to look annoyed. "Yes. Anubis was a protector God of the deceased. However he was not as powerful of a God as Atum, he focused more on helping the souls of people to reach the afterlife, and later became more of a cosmic deity. And we're not discussing other Gods at the moment."

"Oh…okay."

"Marik, you said that you had a suspicion that Atemu is Atum in human form," she said slowly, half-stating and half-questioning.

Marik nodded. "The God Atum vanished three thousand years ago. Atemu was born three thousand years ago. He was an extremely gifted pharaoh, with power that other humans didn't have. Yugi told me about what they discovered in the world of memory; Atemu had to ability to command other Gods. No normal human had that."

"What about me?" Yugi interjected once again, still in search of a way to lessen Atemu's stress. "I could command the God cards."

Ishizu considered him. "The two of you really are an interesting case. Clearly you aren't Atemu's reincarnation, but it's undeniable that you're linked somehow. This is only a guess, but I suspect that some of his powers were transferred to you, either because you were his host, or even because your souls are somehow connected. Therefore, you probably have some of Atum's powers as well."

"Oh." Yugi said again, falling silent.

"Atum would manifest himself in a human form," Marik continued, glancing back and forth between them. "Which would explain why Atemu was able to create a corporeal body for himself. When he was a spirit living in the Puzzle, he had a host and had no need to manifest his true form, because his spirit was existing outside a body for a reason. This time he was abruptly forced out, and likely unconsciously created this form. That of a man…and this particular body most likely because it's the form his human spirit remembers."

"But there are still a lot of holes in the theory," Anzu interjected, having seen Atemu's darkening expression. "Like why a God would let himself be born as a human, and how the prophecy got into his tomb to begin with. And besides, back when he was just 'the other Yugi' _you_ told me he had a mortal soul, doesn't that mean he's just a normal human?"

"Anzu…Aibou…" Atemu finally spoke. "I appreciate…you trying to disprove them, or trying to make me avoid the responsibility. But I'm beginning to think…that Marik is correct."

"What?" they all looked at him. Atemu sighed, his head down, his face hidden.

"I think I'm Atum."

* * *

**Notes:** Now see, I totally screwed up last chapter and only realized it now. I should have made Hanif be unable to speak Japanese. Because now there's all these teeny plot holes. (Why does the spirit acquire the abilities of the person he or she possessed? What's the point of that? I spy a deus ex machina to make dialogue easier!) But it's a little too late for that. ._. He speaks Japanese, and that's that. But hey, in the show I was always amazed that everyone the characters met spoke Japanese. Talk about coincidences…

Sorry to everyone who wanted the spirit to be Yami no Bakura or Malik...awesome plot twist idea, but fact is that canon-speaking, neither of them was possible. Yami no Bakura was in fact Zorc…and Zorc was destroyed. Malik wasn't a spirit, but a dual personality. And unfortunately, I'm conforming to canon in this one.

I apologize to any religious people offended by the one-heaven theory. I'm a heathen, I know.

Honestly I'm not entirely happy with this chapter…as these rather lengthy notes show. I'm starting to feel like this fic as a whole had a lot more potential and I settled for the easy route and didn't live up to that. But it might just be I'm in a mood today. *shrugs* I hope you guys enjoy the update anyway. The next chapter has more cuteness. x3


	10. Chapter 10

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 10  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

"But Atemu…" Anzu began.

"No, Anzu…I know there are holes in the theory. However your questions don't _disprove_ the theory."

"They are good questions, though," Mai said. "You have to admit, it's odd that a powerful deity would let himself take on a human life."

"About that…I have a guess," Ishizu said. "I was thinking about it on the plane. Although the Heliopolitan text was still used in some places after Atemu's life and death, Atum's worship had faded before the eighteenth dynasty. There was a pharaoh before Atemu's father. His name was Akhenaten, and he was devoted to Aten, an aspect of Ra. Akhenaten was oddly monotheistic, and his views weren't popular."

"And what does he have to do with anything?"

"Atum's glory was already waning. Ra was already more revered, remembered today as the most powerful God of Egypt. Very few have even heard of Atum's name. Possibly, Atum felt he no longer had a place in the Egyptian world, and when he saw someone attempting to set up one God alone as being better than all the others, that was the last straw. He may have escaped to the human world, taking refuge in a human soul that was just forming in an unborn baby. That would give him a mortal soul, which might act as a mask for his true soul. As for the similar names, no action is without a reason; his parents may have been led to choose it by Fate."

"But why?"

"He could have had several motives. Out of sadness perhaps, or to spite those who forgot about him."

"Atemu would never abandon innocent people out of spite or bitterness," Yugi argued.

"No, Atemu wouldn't," Rishid agreed. "But Atum may have."

"But if you're saying they're one and the same–"

"But maybe Atemu doesn't remember his actions as a God," Marik said. "That means Atemu the human isn't really to blame."

"Just yesterday you were saying that Atum and Atemu were the same person!"

"Well…it's more complicated than how I put it yesterday," he said, looking slightly guilty. "It's like past lives. A person isn't entirely responsible for what he did in a past life, is he?"

"Yes, but how did the prophecy get into Atemu's tomb?" Anzu demanded. "That's one question nobody's answered."

Hanif in Jounouchi's body was watching the exchange silently, looking confused and slightly awe-struck to have found himself among the only people who seemed to be taking any action.

"I don't think it has an answer," Ishizu said, closing the book. "The room could have been created many years after Atemu's death. It was found before the traps, meaning that anyone could have gotten in to make it. Or, even while Atemu's tomb was being built, a worker could have added the chamber on. We'll likely never know, even if we have a chance to date it, it might not be accurate. And what you're calling a prophecy might have instead been a warning from one of Atum's last believers that forgetting the beliefs of _Annu_ and forgetting Atum was bound to cause suffering later. Placing it in Atemu's tomb would indicate that Atemu's return to the afterlife would be the trigger."

"But why hide it? If we'd known about this ahead of time, we might have prevented the whole rift problem!"

"I sensed power waiting inside the room," Marik said. "It was probably sealed to prevent the wrong people from getting in to find it. I suppose they didn't expect it to take so many years, or consider the fact that the stone would weaken substantially over millennia."

"Okay, so…what do we do?" Honda finally asked.

"We have to go back to the chamber," Marik replied. "And Atemu has to return to his God-form and protect the underworld again. He's the only one who would have enough power to make the spirits go back."

"Why do we have to go back to the chamber?" Mai frowned.

"I suspect that the chamber holds magic to help him return to his original form."

"Of course, magic." Honda sighed. "It's the answer to everything."

Atemu, having been silent for awhile, suddenly stood up. "Then we should go now."

"We can't." Ishizu shook her head.

"What do you mean we can't?" He argued. "People are suffering. People have been killed, and it's only going to get worse. Jounouchi's already been possessed…who's to say another of us won't be next? The spirits could be forcing innocent people to do terrible things right this moment. If this is my fault, I want to fix it, and I want to fix it now!"

"Atum's power…your power…is strongest at dusk. Atum represented the setting sun. A mix of light and darkness will increase your power. We have to wait till sundown."

Atemu turned and walked to the second bedroom, yanking the door open and slamming it behind him.

The room was silent for a long moment. Then there was a clink as Yugi set down his nearly-untouched cup of tea and stood up. "I'll be right back guys."

"Are you going to talk to him? We'll come too," Honda said, about to stand before Yugi shook his head as he walked to the door.

"No, I want to talk to him alone."

- - -

Yugi knocked softly before opening the door and slipping inside. Closing it behind him, he saw Atemu sitting on the bed with his back to him. He walked over and sat down beside him quietly, saying nothing, waiting for him to react.

Atemu sighed, head down. "I don't want to wait. All those people…and the good spirits who don't have a choice…my family and friends and…they're all suffering, and I'm sitting here doing nothing."

"But if waiting means you'll be more ready–" Yugi began.

"But I won't be. That's just it, Aibou…I'm ready _now_. I can deal with it now. If I wait…if I have time to stop and think about it…I'm going to lose the ability to stay calm and do what I have to do."

Yugi placed his hand on Atemu's arm and felt his muscles tighten. "Atemu…it's going to be okay."

"I'm sorry about Jounouchi," Atemu whispered.

"It's okay, he's going to be okay. He got lucky, it wasn't a bad spirit."

"He didn't even do anything wrong. He was here trying to help me…"

"Atemu, stop it, stop speaking in past tense and stop beating yourself up over this–"

"I'm so…so sorry, Aibou." He doubled over, hair hiding his face. "This is my fault."

"No, it's going to be okay," Yugi soothed, patting his arm shyly. "You're not facing this alone. You have all of us. And you have me. I helped you before, and I'll help you with this task, too."

"No, Aibou. You can't help me this time."

"Why?" He asked, surprised. Atemu lifted his head.

"Because…I have a suspicion…of what I have to do. There's no proof, but I just have a feeling, and if I'm right…I can't let you help me."

"What are you saying?"

"I think…if Atum created the human form of himself to escape his God-life, I'm going to have to shed my human life to go back."

"Shed your human life…wait, are you saying give up your human spirit?" Yugi asked, heart suddenly pounding.

Atemu bowed his head.

"But…that can't be…"

"I can't protect the underworld as a human. My human spirit is in the way. It will have to be sacrificed if I want to return to being a God."

"But…Atemu, if you…return your God form that way, then…" Yugi bit his lip, his eyes suddenly stinging.

"Aibou?" He looked up, surprised at the pain in Yugi's voice.

"I know it's selfish," he whispered. "But…I always liked being able to look at the sky and think…your spirit was out there somewhere. Somewhere your spirit was still alive, having fun with your family and your friends, waiting…well, not waiting, but _there_…and then someday I would see you again. But if you…become a God…what does that mean? Does it mean that you…won't be there? You won't be waiting for me?"

"I…I don't know. I like to believe that I will still be able to see everyone, but I can't be sure. But either way, I must…"

Yugi shook his head. "No…I understand that you have to do this. I just…it's hard. You've sacrificed so much. As a pharaoh you sacrificed your life for your people. You took care of me, and you protected our friends. And now…you have to give up your human spirit…to protect the people of the underworld. When will you ever get to have happiness of your own?"

Atemu's eyes grew wet and he turned his head. _Happiness of my own..._

"Atemu?"

"My happiness, Aibou…is in knowing that you're safe. By giving up my human spirit, I'll be able to put the underworld back the way it's supposed to be, in peace. So one day…hopefully a very long time from now…when you have to enter the afterlife, it will be safe for you and everyone else. That…is my happiness."

Yugi looked away too. _That isn't fair. You deserve so much more._

But he knew that wasn't what Atemu wanted to hear.

_  
I know you want my support._

Finally, forcing strength upon himself, he managed to speak: "Atemu…if you are a God and you have to return to that…or if we go there tonight and find out we were all wrong and you're not…no matter what happens…I will stand by you. I will…respect your choice."

Yugi had moved slightly on the bed. Atemu could feel the heat of his hand close by his own, and he moved his own hand, curling a few of his fingers over Yugi's. He didn't know what to expect for a response, or why he had done it at all. Then he felt Yugi's hand move, and Yugi curled his own fingers to grasp Atemu's back, saying nothing. But Atemu felt a spark of light enter his heart.

_  
Aibou..._

Taking a deep breath, he heard himself speaking softly. "Aibou, there is something…I always wanted to tell you, but I never knew how to say the right words." He looked up into Yugi's eyes. "We didn't have a lot of time together in the broad scheme of things. But I feel like it was important, and I feel like the time with you…was worth more than anything else. And I…have always been so proud of you."

Yugi bit his lip, feeling tears collecting on his eyelashes. He remembered, just two days before, looking at his lantern and hoping that he was someone Atemu was proud of. But his words didn't bring him any comfort now.

"Don't…don't say that, Atemu. You're saying it like…we'll never see each other again."

"Well…" Atemu started quietly, but Yugi cut him off.

"No! Don't say it…I don't want that! I don't want you to…Atemu, I…"

_  
It's like you said…you can keep yourself together now, but the more time passes, the more you're not ready. I feel the same. The more time passes, the harder it is to not fall apart. The harder it is to not tell you…_

"Aibou?"

Yugi was trying to speak, but the words were stuck inside of him. As if his voice itself was reminding him that the words, no matter how well-meant, were taboo.  
_  
I want to tell him…I want to give him the truth, but he just wants my blessing for his choice. How can I give him both?_

He knew the answer. _I can't._

But now Atemu was looking at him, waiting for him to continue. "I just…miss you. I've missed you a lot," he finally whispered. "Seeing you has reminded me…about the night of the Ceremonial Battle, and I really wanted to talk to you and just spend the night talking before…it all ended…but I'd chosen to take on your battle and we couldn't. And after you left I missed you so much. I've wanted to tell you how I was, and wanted to ask how you were…and now here we are, and you're talking as if after tonight we might never see each other again, not even after death, and…I hate it."

Atemu nodded, murmuring, "I understand. I have missed you too. So much…"

"Hey…listen…" Yugi said, trying to sound cheerful and blinking away the wetness in his eyes. "You didn't drink much of your tea earlier, why don't I go out to the kitchen and get us fresh cups, and I'll bring you one…and I'll tell you about everything that's happened since you left. And you can tell me about seeing your family…we'll spend the whole day talking, just like we used to. How does that sound?"

Atemu's lips twitched into a tiny smile. "That sounds good, Aibou."

* * *

**Notes: **Not quite as shameless of fanservice as there was in chapter 08, since this is actually related to the plot...but it's still kind of fanservice-y. x3; I kinda like this chapter quite a bit...hopefully you enjoyed it as well. Anyway, the end of the fic is coming! Only three chapters left...


	11. Chapter 11

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 11  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

"Has anyone seen Yugi or Atemu?" Marik asked, walking into the room with a map rolled up under one arm.

"They're _still _in there talking." Honda said, jerking his head toward the bedroom door. "They've been in there all afternoon. Seems unfair, Atemu is our friend too. He might think we'd also like to spend some time with him."

"But it's probably tougher on Yugi than the rest of us," Anzu broke in, coming to their defense. "Think about it…he was just barely getting over losing Atemu the first time and now this happens and he has to lose him all over again."

"I guess."

Anzu wanted to defend them further, but kept quiet, knowing it wasn't her secret to tell. She had volunteered to bring them snacks earlier and had seen them sitting together on the bed, close enough for their legs to touch, talking excitedly and laughing. She hadn't seen Yugi look so happy in months. And after seeing Atemu crying and miserable the night before, it was a relief to see him smiling. She was willing to put off disturbing them for as long as possible.

Marik, however, had other ideas. He plunked the map down on the table and said, "It's getting late, we need to decide on a plan. Someone go get them."

"I'll get them," Mai said, standing up. She crossed the room, knocked on the door, and opened it. "Guys, time to come out, we've got plans to make."

Inside, the cheerful murmur of voices died down instantly, and when they walked out both looked solemn and withdrawn again.

Immediately Anzu looked down and focused on the map. Part of her wished she had volunteered – maybe she could have gotten them a few last minutes. But looking at them now, she thought maybe it was better this way. The longer they put it off, the worse it would hurt in the end.

"So how are we getting to the tomb?" Yugi asked, sitting down and looking at the map that Marik had spread across the living room table.

"Helicopter. Excavators have access."

"You know how to fly a helicopter?" Honda asked.

Marik shook his head. "Gods, no. He does." He pointed at Rishid, who ducked his head, looking somewhat pleased at the admiring expressions being cast at him.

"I got my license last month."

"What about restricted airspace laws?"

"Rishid is part of the excavation team. If anyone radios with questions, he can tell them he is simply dropping off or picking up equipment," Ishizu explained.

Anzu did a quick headcount and said, "Er…if we're all going, there's going to be nine people in the helicopter. That can't be safe."

"The helicopter can hold up to six people. And I will not be going," Ishizu replied.

"Neither will I," Marik added.

"But Marik, you're the one who helped figure all of this out–"

"But there's only so much room in the helicopter, and you are Atemu's closest friends. You should be the ones there."

"Marik…" Atemu said, but Marik shook his head.

"Atemu, no. Your friends should be with you."

"You're my friend too."

"But they've been through more with you." Marik smiled. "Stop arguing, unless you want to have to leave one of them behind, and I don't think they'd take very kindly to it."

"Without Ishizu and Marik, there's still seven…" Anzu spoke up tentatively.

"The helicopter can hold seven," Rishid explained. "The limit is for safety. However there is also a weight allowance for equipment. Without any cargo, it will be perfectly safe to have an extra person."

"Oh, okay."

Ishizu checked her watch and stood. "You should all get going. Dusk will fall soon."

"Thank you Marik…Ishizu." Atemu stood, taking each of their hands in turn. "In case I don't return to tell you later, I appreciate…everything."

They both bowed their heads. "It has been an honour, Atemu."

He bowed back, then turned. "Let's go."

- - -

Nobody said much on the way to the airfield or in the helicopter. Atemu didn't even look at anybody, though he could feel them watching him. But only Yugi knew his suspicions about how the night would end. He hadn't asked Yugi to keep the secret, but because he hadn't asked him to tell the others, either, he knew that Yugi hadn't said anything. Still, they seemed to suspect that something was up.

_It's better that they don't know. I cannot let anybody talk me out of this. __  
_  
And his friends, if they knew the truth, would probably try.

On the other side of the helicopter, Yugi was staring out the window, his eyes unfocused.

_I pledged my respect to Atemu…I promised to accept his choices, whatever happens tonight. _

But if what Atemu thought would happen turned out to be true…

_I accepted the Ceremonial Battle for him. This is no different. _

Wasn't it?

_No…this isn't like accepting the Ceremonial Battle. That hurt…but it was for the best in the end. So it was okay. But now…he's going to sacrifice himself. He's giving up his human spirit just for a bunch of people who turned their backs on him before._ A strange anger flared up inside him. _He's giving up his own happiness…for people who don't give a damn about him… _

But Atemu didn't care about that, did he? He was doing this in the name of the innocent people who were being hurt. But why…why did he have to sacrifice himself? Why wasn't there another way?

If Atemu gave up his human spirit…would Yugi ever see him again?

_I _promised _to respect his choice to do this. __  
_  
He swallowed heavily, aware that he couldn't go bursting into tears now, because in this tiny space, everyone would notice. But his fists clenched as he pressed his forehead to the cool glass, a sick, unsettled feeling in his chest.

_I'm sorry Atemu…I'm starting to wonder…if I can keep that promise. __  
_

Rishid set the helicopter down just as the setting sun was beginning to dip past the horizon. "The chamber is easy to locate," he said, turning as they all jumped out and stretched. "You can see the entrance right there. Go a few steps down, and the opening is on the left."

"The room will be pitch black, how will we see anything once the light is completely gone?" Mai asked.

"The excavators will have set lanterns around the opening. Take a few of them. Here, I have matches."

"You're not coming with us?"

"I mean no disrespect, Atemu, I would like to go with you," he said, straightening up. "But I need to stay here so that, if by any chance another person shows up, I can keep them away."

"I understand. Thank you, Rishid. I appreciate everything you're doing for me."

"Atemu, you ready?" Honda asked, turning to him.

Atemu nodded and started forward, the others hurrying to catch up. Behind him he could hear nervous conversation, including Honda speculating on what kinds of cool powers Gods got, and Mai declaring that if Hanif didn't give Jounouchi back after this, she'd kill him again herself. Atemu didn't mind – he was glad that they were doing their best to put on a positive appearance for him – but he didn't have the heart to join in.

Anzu and Yugi seemed to share his sentiments. Anzu seemed calm but quiet, and Yugi was actually hiding his expression from Atemu. Puzzled, he wondered why until they reached the entrance.

"Atemu, we'll get the lanterns and light the way, alright?" Anzu spoke up. "You shouldn't have to carry one."

Everyone else agreed, including Yugi, whose expression bordered on blank. Atemu frowned slightly at him, before following Honda and Yugi down the stairs, while Anzu, Mai, and Hanif followed him.

"There's an opening here!" Honda called up at them, waving the light and then vanishing from view. The opening became illuminated as Yugi entered as well and the light began reflecting off of the walls.

Inside, Anzu shivered. "I think I can feel what Marik was talking about…the magic."

Yugi, momentarily side-tracked from his private thoughts, nodded. "I can feel it too. The air is heavy."

Atemu said nothing, but he could feel it as well. He could also feel something else…a strange sense of release.

_Has this place…this magic…been waiting for me? It wants to welcome me in. Whoever created this place…had hoped that I would return. _

Any doubt he'd had of what he had to do was gone. Someone, thousands of years ago, had still believed in Atum's protection of his devoted followers. They'd built this room in the belief that the God who remained "ignorant of his duty" would someday see the suffering his absence had caused, and would choose to return to fix it. And they had gone through the trouble to build this chamber to warn the world…and to give him a way to return. Atemu had no right to betray that belief.

"You guys should stay outside the room," he finally said. "I don't want to risk…anything happening to you."

Only Yugi understood the true implications of this.

_He's afraid we might be taken with him. __  
_  
And as the others retreated to the entryway, nervous and solemn, another thought came to mind:

_That means there's the possibility that we _could _be taken with him. _

Atemu turned his back to them and faced the text on the wall. He could feel the power in the air roiling around him, as if excited to finally be in the presence of the person it had been waiting for.

_I'm ready to go back. _

The weight of the air seemed to grow. He closed his eyes, trying to focus. He should have had nothing to regret, yet he could feel a tug at his heart. One last concern nagged at him and kept him bound to the Earth, and he tried valiantly to push it aside.

_He'll be okay. _

Forcefully emptying his mind, he didn't dare turn or look back.

_I no longer need my human spirit. I give it up…so that I can return to the universe in my true form and resume my proper place. _

He felt the air move around him, ruffling his hair. His body felt strange…light, tingly, and finally he felt even the numbness of acceptance, knowing it was time to let go.

Suddenly, a cry broke the soft rush of magic. Muted exclamations followed. He felt something warm wrap around his body, and a voice shouted,

"Atemu, no!"

His eyes shot open. The feeling of acceptance shattered as he looked down into fierce purple eyes that stared back at him.

_Aibou…?_

* * *

**Notes: ***twiddles thumbs* Sorry this chapter is so...obviously being used just for set-up. But the next one is too important and has to stand on its own, I couldn't mix them. Enjoy your cliffhanger. x3 *prances away*


	12. Chapter 12

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 12  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

Atemu stared, and finally broke the silence as he said, "Aibou, what are you–?"

"This isn't fair!" Yugi shouted, his voice oddly muffled by the sound of the power whirling around them.

"Aibou, _what are you doing_? You promised me–"

"I can't keep that promise!" He grit his teeth, staring up at him. _I'm sorry Atemu…I can't keep that promise. _

He had fought with himself all the way here. Even as he and the others backed away, he had argued with himself over what he should do. He knew what he promised Atemu. But he'd only made that promise because he knew it was what Atemu wanted to hear. He hadn't felt it in his heart.

And as he stood, watching as Atemu's body seemed to resonate with the magic in the room, he thought to himself: _Sometimes people have to hear things that they don't want to. I can't spend my life lying to people just because I want to say what they want to hear. _

Why should Atemu be the martyr? He had sacrificed his own happiness for far too long. He deserved to live in peace, but he would always choose to endure pain to help other people. He always suffered alone.

_We promised…we promised we would see each other again. If you leave this way…_

He knew it went against his promise. But if he could go with Atemu, if he could stop him from having to be alone again…maybe that in itself would be enough to make up for breaking the promise.

"We're bonded, aren't we?" He demanded, his arms locked around Atemu's body, which stung with an odd mix of ice and heat, as if the light and darkness inside Atemu had risen to his skin. "The Puzzle chose me. Ishizu told me that some of your power was in me, which means some of Atum's power is in me as well. I can go with you, I can help you–"

"Aibou, _no_!"

Yugi clung more tightly still to Atemu, who could feel the magic in the room, no longer swirling gently, but crashing around him now. It seemed angry that he was holding back. But he couldn't let himself be taken. With Yugi holding onto him, it seemed likely that Yugi would be taken as well. Yugi had a point, their spirits were connected somehow and his partner's spirit could easily be mistaken as part of his own. And if Yugi's human spirit was taken…

Fear gripped him. "Aibou– you must let me go. Please–"

"I'm not going to stand here and watch you sacrifice yourself for people who will never understand your legacy," Yugi snapped back, his eyes stinging as tears sprang to them. "It isn't fair…you shouldn't have to be the one to make this sacrifice. I know how much being all alone hurts you…and you're going to do this, which might cause you to be alone for eternity! You don't deserve that!"

"Aibou, please. I have to do this. There isn't another way."

"Then let me come with you!"

"I don't want you to come with me." He tried to shove him away, but Yugi wouldn't be budged. Finally his voice grew harsh, trying to force him to let go. "You promised me you would respect my choice...this isn't you, this is selfish. You used to have pride, you let me go before. Why do you choose now to dishonour me and yourself like this?"

Yugi buried his face against Atemu's chest. "Pride…honour…what do they matter? You can be angry at me, you can hate me…but I won't let you do this alone." He looked up at him, his eyelashes heavy with escaped tears. "Yes, I let you go before, but didn't you realize what it did to me? Did you really think it was easy before? That I just moved on and it never hurt?"

"Aibou, I…"

His voice rose. "Maybe it isn't honourable, but I have watched you suffer for too long…believing that you alone have to take on all the world's problems. Don't you realize…that the people who love you hate seeing you never have a chance at happiness? Don't you realize how much that hurts us? Don't you realize…how much it hurts _me_? Maybe I am selfish, but I don't want to lie to you anymore. It's _not _okay. It's not okay that you have to go through this alone."

_Aibou…you… _

Finally, Atemu understood. Yugi didn't need to say the words, his eyes and tone said them for him.

He rested his hands on Yugi's shoulders and shook his head, his voice soft as he spoke. "Aibou, you must go. You must go back to your friends and save yourself. Even if you do have a fragment of Atum's power inside you, it might not be enough. If Marik is right, I can at least be sure that I'll pass over with my God soul even if my human one is taken. But if it goes wrong, you could lose your soul forever. You won't be alive, but you won't be able to cross over to the afterlife either. It would mean an eternity of nothingness, you can't risk that."

"No! Atemu, I don't want you to be alone. I want you to be happy…I…you don't understand how badly I want to see you happy. You don't understand…"

"Aibou." He reached out and tilted Yugi's head up to meet his eyes as tears suddenly escaped down his face.

Yugi's eyes widened. _Atemu…you're crying. You never let yourself cry in front of me… _

Atemu's gaze gentled as he looked into Yugi's eyes and whispered, "Aibou, I understand. I understand that feeling." He swallowed and took a deep breath, his voice finally shaking as he said, "I...have always loved you."

Yugi's heart leapt to his throat. "Ate…"

"That has been my happiness all along. You have been my happiness. Even though we were never meant to stay together…even though we never had it all, the time spent with you was the greatest gift I ever received. I do not think of myself as having suffered."

"But Atemu…I…I love you too much…it isn't fair," he choked. "At least let me go with you."

"If you truly care for me…you will let me go and let me do this alone," he whispered. "You will understand." He passed his hand over Yugi's hair, stroking the soft locks for the first and last time. Yugi felt his own tears stream harder down his face at the touch.

"But Atemu…"

"Please, Aibou." Though soft, his voice had become steady again. He caressed Yugi's cheek. "Please hear me. I want to leave, knowing that you're free. I have never been able…to give you very much. We never had that kind of time. But your freedom…saving you at this time and this place…I can do that much. I can go on and make the afterworld safe again so that one day, I hope many years from now, it will be safe for you. You're going to be fine...you were always going to be fine, you never needed me. You have everything you need inside you. This is something I can do to make a difference for you, something I can finally give you. So please…if you want to give me happiness, give me the comfort…of knowing you're safe here. Let me go with the knowledge that there's someone in this world who loved me. Someone who will remember me. Not as a God, not as a pharaoh…but just as Atemu."

Yugi stared up into his crimson and amethyst eyes. Bright from tears, they had never looked more beautiful. And they were amazingly clear. At that moment Yugi felt as if he could stare into them and see all the way to the very depths of Atemu's soul. He raised his hand and pressed it against Atemu's, holding his hand against his face. His fingers curled, clutching his hand as he felt Atemu wiping away his tears.

"There's someone here who _loves _you," he whispered. "It's not past tense."

Atemu didn't reply. Yugi knew he was waiting for an answer. Finally he swallowed hard and said, "Promise me this isn't forever. Promise me you won't forget me. _Promise _me, mou hitori no boku."

Atemu smiled at the long-forgotten name, forgetting his aversion to it for the moment. Somehow, it was comforting to hear it again, just this once. And he wrapped his arms around him as Yugi hugged him back desperately, gripping him. "Oh Aibou…" He said, his lips pressed to the top of Yugi's forehead as he squeezed his eyes shut. "We're part of each other. I will always remember you…that's how I know it isn't forever. We will see each other again, I promise. I will be waiting for you."

Yugi waited long enough to hear one last beat of Atemu's heart, then released him, backing away, his lips quivering and face awash in tears. But somehow he managed to nod. And as he did he could see the peace in Atemu's eyes.

_He's happy…_ Yugi thought as the man who had once been his other self looked back at him, whispered, "thank you Aibou," and closed his eyes as his body was enveloped in dark fog.

Yugi found himself running then, running from the chamber, running from the tomb until he reached the Earth and faced the setting sun as the last sliver of it cast its glow over the horizon.

He couldn't say good-bye in that tiny chamber. Atemu was more than that. He was more than the body he was leaving behind. He was more than the human spirit he was giving up.

Yugi loved him…that made him something even more than a God.

And he deserved something better than a whisper in a dark, cold chamber. He deserved a farewell that was screamed to the Earth and the sky and the world, and Yugi could only stand there helplessly, his tears beyond control and chest heaving, unable to say the right words. But as he watched the sun vanish, he had a feeling that Atemu was there, all around him.

Yugi knew he didn't have to speak aloud. He knew Atemu could understand perfectly the words that called out to him from his heart.

* * *

**Notes: **Before you come after me with pitchforks and torches, I'd like to say _there is still chapter 13 left to post. _And if you kill me now, I won't be able to post it, and you'll never find out how the story ends. So please, hold off on the torture plans until you've read the last chapter, okay? …Please? *gives innocent Bambi eyes*

I'm going to let this chapter speak for itself. I tried to shove a ton of themes and messages into two and a half pages and I want the comments to show me if I succeeded in my goal or not. As terrible as it sounds, I hope I got at least one person to cry. ^^;

This was supposed to be posted on Friday, as I was out-of-town all day Saturday at a Yugioh tournament, (lost, but I did win a shirt in a raffle. =D It has Yugi's gadget monsters on the back. *hearts*)


	13. Chapter 13

Coming Forth by Sundown  
Chapter 13  
Rating: PG-13  
Genre: Drama/romance  
Pairing(s): YamixYugi, JouxMai, brief mentioning of YamixAnzu and YugixAnzu  
Spoilers: Post-series, thus, many spoilers, including Yami's real name  
Warnings: None

* * *

Yugi didn't know how long he stood there, but eventually he heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see his friends emerging from the tomb, all looking somewhat shell-shocked. He noticed vaguely that Mai was clutching Jounouchi's hand.

"Jounouchi…?" He asked, voice hoarse. "Are you okay?"

Jounouchi nodded. "I don't really remember what happened…but otherwise yes."

"His body went limp a few minutes after…he vanished," Mai said quietly. "And then Jounouchi came back. Hanif must have been called back to the underworld."

"Then it must have worked…Atemu must have…"

If they were surprised by the fact that he was able to say Atemu's name, they didn't show it.

Anzu stepped forward, carrying a bundle of familiar clothing, and said, "Only his body was…taken. He sort of turned into this shadowy fog, and then vanished. I guess he created his body out of magic…so when he left all other physical things didn't matter."

Yugi took the bundle. Resting on top was a small stack of silver bracelets. Balancing the clothes on one arm, he took the bracelets in his hand and gazed at them for a moment. They still felt warm.

He looked up at the sky and back down at the bracelets, and then asked, "Anzu, what time is it in Japan?"

Startled, she checked her watch. "Around one forty-five in the morning."

"If we were able to find a plane…would we make it back in time for the toro-nagashi?"

"Yeah, we would."

He hugged the clothes to his chest, and on them he could detect Atemu's scent, evoking grief and warm comfort at the same time. Then, slipping the bracelets onto his wrist, he turned and began walking toward the helicopter where Rishid sat, waiting. "Let's go home."

- - -

"Did it work?" Marik asked the moment they walked in the door. Everyone glanced down at Yugi. Yugi said nothing and walked silently past and into the spare room where his bag was.

Marik, eyebrows furrowed, looked quizzically at his friends. "Well? Is Jounouchi back?"

Jounouchi, whose hand was still in Mai's, nodded. "I'm back."

"So that means it did work! …Oh." He had just realized the reason for Yugi's actions. "It worked, so…Atemu is…?"  
"Yeah." Honda said.

Ishizu, watching sympathetically, got up. "I'm sorry. Is there anything we can do to repay you?"

Anzu, who had been staring in quiet concern at the bedroom door Yugi had vanished before, looked up. "Do you know if there are any flights we can catch home? Yugi wants to be back for the toro-nagashi."

"You can use my plane." Ishizu crossed the room to where her purse sat on the table and pulled out a cell phone, flipping it open. "As Marik and Rishid currently have no work, I think a short visit with my family this weekend would be nice. I'll call the pilot and let him know to expect you."

"Thank you Ishizu. That's very generous."

"Nonsense. The least I can do is get you home."

In the bedroom, Yugi could hear the conversation through the door. He sat down on the bed, set down the pile of clothes, and reached for his bag to put them away. As he unzipped it, he heard Marik say Atemu's name.

He tensed at the sound, sighed, and set the bag back down. His eyes stung as he squeezed them shut and clutched his clothes back to his chest.

"Atemu…"

"Yugi?"

He jolted to attention at the sound of Anzu's voice and lifted his head. "Um…Anzu, sorry. What is it?"

"Ishizu's getting us a flight home. We're going to leave now."

"Okay." He got up, shoved the clothes inside his bag, and zipped it shut. "I'm ready."

She hesitated. "Yugi, are you–"

"Anzu, Yugi, come on!"

Yugi broke eye contact with her and slid past through the doorway.

They all said very little on the flight home. Jounouchi and Honda slept most of the way. Mai spent much of the trip with her eyes trained on Jounouchi, a curious expression in them. Yugi leaned against the window, his eyes closed. But Anzu, watching him from the corner of her eye, could tell he wasn't sleeping. Every now and then his jaw would tighten and a few tears would escape, causing him to turn and dry his cheeks with his sleeves.

The solemn silence in the plane brought back memories of the Ceremonial Battle and the trip back home to her, though Yugi's demeanor couldn't have been more different. But for some reason, the tears didn't scare her nearly as much as his calmness during the flight several months before had.

After the plane touched down, Yugi turned to them and said, "I'm going straight home. There're still several hours before the boat launching, and there're things I have to do…and see how much trouble I'm in with my parents. I'll see you all later?"

"You're going to go make a lantern boat for Atemu, right?" Honda asked.

Yugi nodded.

"Then we wouldn't miss this year's toro-nagashi for anything," Jounouchi broke in. He turned and raised his arm. "Come on guys, let's all go home and make the best boats ever. Atemu's going to need all the help he can get, getting all those spirits back into the underworld."

It still hurt, but Yugi found himself managing a small smile at Jounouchi's fervor. In light of giving Atemu a proper farewell, it seemed Jounouchi had either forgotten - or didn't care - about the time he'd spent possessed. Yugi knew that Atemu would be happy to know it hadn't caused any damage.  
_  
__Atemu...we have the best friends in the world.__  
_

- - -

That night, as dusk fell, every waterway in the city was crowded with people. Yugi had chosen the Domino Pier to launch his boat, knowing that location held a lot of memories for Atemu and his friends. He had just lit the candle in the boat with a lighter from a man helping out when he heard someone shouting, "Yugi! Hey!"

He turned and saw his friends hurrying toward him, all dressed in yukatas and carrying small lantern boats.

"Everyone! I'm glad you're here…"

"Let's all launch our boats together," Jounouchi said, pulling out a lighter and flicking it open. They watched as he attempted to spark it, before giving up and shouting at a crowd nearby, "Hey! Who has a working lighter? We've got an important spirit to say good-bye to!"

Mai, as if anticipating his failure to bring a working one, procured one from inside her yukata. "Here Jounouchi, got you covered."

He smiled, pausing long enough to make their fingers touch as she passed it to him. "Thanks Mai."

Yugi turned away so they wouldn't see him smiling to himself at their flirting and looked out at the water, alight with hundreds of other tiny boats. Then he looked down at the boat in his hands. The candle was encircled by a few silver bracelets. The rest of the bracelet set jingled on his arm as he lay down on the dock, placed the boat in the water, and gave it a push. It glided away easily, followed by the small platoon of lighted vessels from Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Mai.

"I'd like to stay here for a little while, is that okay?" He asked.

The others nodded and left quietly, and he arranged himself on the edge of the dock, watching Atemu's boat drift away, the candle burning brightly.

He wasn't entirely sure how he felt yet…the plane ride hadn't been long enough to settle on one emotion. At one moment he felt peaceful, then in the next he felt like screaming from the pain, and the next after he just felt numb. Part of him treasured the memory of Atemu holding him, the touch of his hands and warmth of his fingers, and his gentle words. But another part of him filled with stinging sadness when he thought of how long it might be before he ever got to feel that touch or hear that voice again.

And something still bothered him.

"Why didn't you ever tell me before that you loved me…?" He whispered.

"It was because he didn't want to hold you back," a voice answered him, and he looked over to see Anzu sitting down beside him.

"What?"

"Atemu told me…when he ran from Marik's house and I found him, he told me about his feelings for you. He asked me not to tell you…but because he told you himself, I think that means it's okay."

"What did he say?" Yugi asked. "About me?"

"Basically that you were his life." She smiled. "But that he knew…that your lives weren't supposed to be intertwined. He was determined to never hold you back from your true potential. He was devoted to you, Yugi…his _aibou_."

Yugi was silent for a long time as he thought about that. More tears had formed in his eyes.  
_  
__You truly loved me, Atemu. And I… _

Then, his gaze trained on the water: "You know, it's funny Anzu. I've loved Atemu for years. Yet…I've always chosen to let him go. I didn't have to help him find his memories. I didn't have to take on, much less win the Ceremonial Battle. I didn't have to let go of him tonight…but I always have. I love him more than anything, but I've always chosen to move on without him."

She watched him as he sighed and wrapped his arms around his legs. "Atemu…probably doesn't know I loved him just as much as he loved me."

"What? Of course he knows!"

"How could he? I always let him go. Last night…I told him I loved him. But then I let go of him, and I don't think…he really understood how deeply I meant it. If I truly loved him…I wouldn't have given up. I'd have gone with him."

"No Yugi, that isn't true!"

He looked up in surprise at her. "Anzu…?"

"Letting him go…was the proof that you loved him that he wanted," she said. "Didn't you see it in his eyes? He told me that freedom was all he could give you. If you had held onto him, if you'd refused to let him give you that, you would have hurt him. He wouldn't have been able to go in peace. You chose to honour his wishes, you spared him from that pain…how much more proof could you have given him?"

"I guess none." Yugi looked up at the stars, allowing his tears to course freely down his face. "It just seems so unfair…that freedom is the only gift we've ever been able to give each other. I always thought…I could give him more. Or maybe I just wished I could."

"You loved him, and he knew. I don't think you could give him anything greater than that," she replied.

Yugi nodded, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. Anzu nervously folded her hands as she watched him struggle for control, recalling the recent months of watching him suffer. "Yugi…are you going to be okay?"

He nodded again, taking a deep breath. "I will be, Anzu. It's strange…but I actually…feel more at peace with this than I did after the Ceremonial Battle. That battle…I spent it all showing pride and honour, determined to show Atemu that I was strong. I thought strength meant not revealing my fears or my feelings. I never considered…that telling him the truth might be a form of strength too. And there has always been a part of my heart that was missing because of it. Tonight…I feel this terrible sadness from losing him…but I also finally feel whole again. I think I did the right thing by telling him before he left. I feel like I got the closure that we didn't have last time."

"I think Atemu would agree. When he talked to me it was obvious he believed in your strength, but he thought you would hate him if you knew about his feelings. The fact that you returned them, that you cared enough about him to support him in his toughest moment…I think that meant the world to him."

"Yeah…and it's not really forever," he murmured.

She didn't reply, too busy lost in thought as she thought about the devotion to each other that the two young men showed. And despite missing Atemu and still shaken from the past few days, she found herself smiling. Nothing except unconditional love existed between the two…and as sad as it was to witness, it was also something beautiful.

"…Anzu?" he asked, noticing her silence. "What's wrong? Do you…think it's stupid that I still believe I'll see him again?"

She shook her head. "No. Actually, I've got a good feeling that you will."

Yugi looked over at her and she saw a light shining in his eyes. A light that she hadn't seen for months. "I've got a good feeling too. Because…we made a promise. And because I still don't believe…that freedom is all we can give to each other. I think someday the time will come when we can give something more. I'll wait for that day. I think Atemu would understand if I moved on. He'd be okay if I found someone new and forgot him, but that's not what I want. I want to wait."

She smiled. "I think he'll be waiting too."

Despite the tears still flowing down his face, Yugi smiled back and then looked back up at the sky. His voice choked slightly, but grew stronger as he said, "But first I have to live my life…so that he will still be proud of me when the day comes that I meet him again."

Anzu touched his shoulder. "I know he will be. How could he not?"

"Thank you, Anzu. For everything. For helping him…us…"

"It was nothing."

Yugi shook his head. "It was much more than that."

She patted his shoulder and got to her feet, her fears quelled. She didn't have to worry about him this time. "Well, I'll leave you alone now. We'll be at the Bon-Odori."

Yugi nodded. "I'll be there soon. Make sure Jounouchi and Honda don't eat all the watermelon before I get there."

"Okay." She smiled and walked away quietly, leaving Yugi to sit in quiet thought.

Nearby, a small girl waved at the boat she and her mother had just launched and she called out, "Good-bye Daddy! See you next year!"

Yugi smiled at the family and then back out at the water. Atemu's boat had vanished in the cluster of lighted vessels.  
_  
__I should say good-bye too._

But instead, as he stood up and looked out one last time, he found himself unable to really say farewell. Atemu was all around him…in the Earth, in the stars, in the gold and crimson rays of the setting sun, in his heart…

How could he say good-bye to someone who would never truly leave him?

So instead he just whispered, "wait for me," to the horizon, and turned to go join his friends at the festival.

And somewhere, he could feel it, Atemu was smiling.

- _owari _-

* * *

**Notes:** This is the part where I let you in on some fic history. Fun trivia, if you will. In the first draft of this fic, Yugi and Anzu ended up together at the end, with Atemu (whose love for Yugi remained unrequited and unknown to Yugi. He got Anzu and Yugi to admit their feelings for each other.) leaving with the boats at the end of the third day. He vanishes when they set the boat sail. Sweet, but too cruel to Atemu, plus my Peachshipping phase passed quickly and I lost interest in that ending. In the second, the magic would actually condemn the person it took to never be able to go back to the afterlife. Yugi forcibly pushed Atemu from the chamber (which at the time, the scene wasn't set in a chamber), the magic took his soul instead, and a very angsty Atemu returned to the afterlife at the end of the third day alone, never to see Yugi again. It was downright awful and depressing. This is the third version, and I like it the best. I think the fic sends the messages I wanted it to send, I think it ends on a bittersweet but not horrifically downtrodden note, and I think I managed to stay as canon as possible, keeping to the established rules of the Yugioh world that Takahashi created, while making Puzzleshipping canon at the same time. Also, in a way, this is my rebellion against the original ending. Even if Atemu couldn't stay, I would have much preferred the series to end with a confession. I suspect my readers want to slap me for not letting them stay together, (or even letting them have a proper kiss) but I hope you enjoyed the fic through to the end. If so, then I feel like I've achieved the most important goal of all. ^^

Normally I don't come out and ask for it, but if you've got the time, I'd love to get some gentle concrit on the fic as a whole. What you liked, what seemed too choppy or confused you, that kind of thing. I'm finally setting out toward my goal to be published someday, and when I'm an author I'm going to have to get used to concrit, (which will not always be gentle), and this is the place to begin getting used to asking for it.

Thank you all for reading and for your comments, critiques, and occasional rants. ;3 I hope to hear from you in future fics!


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